Legacy Of Kain
by Dan Charrington
Summary: A detailed retelling of the entire series, including all the story arcs.
1. GENESIS

**GENESIS  
**

In the very beginning of the world of Nosgoth's history, there existed three races. There were first of all, the Hylden. The Hylden were a race of powerful and devious warriors, who evoked their own unique brand of magic powers and cunning methods to strengthen their empire. They created giant constructions of metal machinery deep beneath the surface of Nosgoth that held magnificent powers. These devices could be abandoned for ages and still retain their functionality if they were ever needed again. Above all else, the Hylden prided themselves on their ingenuity. Their greatest achievement came when they put into effect the plans that would create a massive device capable of harnessing the powers of an ancient creature they had captured known as the Mass. This creature had the power to instantly destroy any other living creature with a single thought, and by creating a device that could make its powers controllable, the Hylden hoped to build a weapon that they could use against any enemy that would dare to challenge them. However, the plans for the device were never finished, and both it and the Mass were abandoned deep underneath Nosgoth's surface for generations.

There existed another race of nobler warriors as well. These proud creatures bore a light blue skin and were graced with feathered wings like angels, where as the Hylden were more reptilian and demonic in appearance with scaly skin and deep hissing voices. The noble race valued knowledge and was deeply involved in the religious and chivalrous arts of war, as opposed to the underhanded and tricky methods of the Hylden. This race of winged nobles operated out of a mighty citadel that they constructed in the center of Nosgoth's eastern most lake.

The final third race was that of mankind. By far the weakest and most fragile, humans grew very rapidly in spiritual strength and magical powers in order to survive. Both the Hylden and the winged race paid the humans little to no heed however, regarding them as somewhat lesser beings and not worth troubling themselves with.

In this time of the three great races, there also existed an entity that could govern and manipulate the forces of life, death and afterlife. This entity was omnipresent, and fed off the "wheel of fate", which it prophesied was the engine of existence to which all souls were destined to return to after they had lived out their first life in order to be reborn into their next. When a living being died its soul passed into the spectral realm where this elder god and its minions dwelled. Once consumed by one of the elder god's minions, the soul was liberated into its next life and the Elder god was thus fed the soul's energy.

The elder god spoke both to the Hylden and the noble race of the winged warriors, preaching its ideas and commands from the secluded spiritual underworld. Like the two great races, this god wasn't concerned with involving itself with the humans. Due to their short lifespan and feeble minds, it simply left them to their own devices and collected the souls of humans as they came to it.

It was not long before the Hylden began to oppose the god. The noble winged race was devoutly loyal however, praying to the god from their citadel each and every day of their lives. Rivalry between the two higher races quickly broke out. The members of the winged race damned the Hylden for opposing their god, and started what was one of the most monumental wars of Nosgoth's history.

The war waged for thousands of years, until it was finally ended with the victory of the winged ancients. As punishment for their blasphemy, the Hylden race was exiled from Nosgoth. The wisest of the noble race's sorcerers sealed the Hylden race in a demon-infested dimension, where they would remain forever.

Feeling that too much was at stake to simply dismiss the Hylden as being gone forever, the noble race of winged beings erected the pillars of Nosgoth. Nine pillars were constructed, each drawing it's power from a different aspect of Nosgoth's existence: the pillar of the mind, drawing strength from the mental energies of all the inhabitants of the lands, the pillar of dimension, which drew energy from the parallel universes that laid next to Nosgoth's own, the pillar of conflict, drawing its power from the rivalry and competitive nature of those who lived on the land, the pillar of energy, harnessing the natural laws of physics and magic to sustain itself, the pillar of nature, which grew in vigor as the seasons of Nosgoth came and went, the pillar of time, remaining constant and unyielding as the years and centuries continued to pass, the pillar of states, gathering its force from all elements of matter as well as their properties of transformation, the pillar of death, energized by the natural passage of life into afterlife, and finally the pillar of balance, which stood at the origin of the eight others and was the axis of both the pillars and of Nosgoth itself.

Before the pillars could secure their banishment the Hylden exacted one final act of revenge on their enemies. Upon their rivals, they bestowed a mighty curse. This curse affected the ancient winged race in three ways. First of all, the winged noble race was infected with a terrible blood thirst. No longer would the food of the land satisfy nor would the waters quench the new and terrible thirst they inherited. Only the blood of other living beings could sustain them. The second affliction of the Hylden's curse was a sterility that prevented the winged race from procreating. The final devastating burden to be set upon the noble race was everlasting immortal life. With these three blows dealt to their foes, the Hylden were thus banished from Nosgoth.

Using the pillars, the winged nobles forged a seal that would serve to keep the Hylden from ever returning. In order to better sustain itself, each of the pillars marked a member of the winged race as a guardian, whose duty it would be to serve and defend the pillar that so chose him or her. These nine guardians would be known as the circle of nine, and they would devote their lives to serving the pillars and Nosgoth. In exchange for their services, the pillars granted each guardian marvelous powers and extended their life cycle.

The curse of the Hylden began to take its devastating toll on the once mighty winged race. Their new bloodlust earned them the title of vampires from mankind, which became the unfortunate primary source of food. The vampires were also abandoned by the elder god, who they had fought centuries in the name for. Being both immortal and sterile, the vampires had nothing to offer their god, who fed itself on the passage of souls through birth, death, and rebirth. No new lives would be born, and the souls of the vampires were forever trapped in their corporeal bodies. The voice of the vampire's elder god grew silent.

Lost without their god and hated by the humans, many of the vampires took their own lives. The bloodlines of the ancient vampires trickled away, and only those vampires who felt it was their duty to preserve their race's legacy remained. One among these vampires, a scholar named Janos Audron, discovered an ancient prophecy that foretold of a great vampire champion known as the scion of balance that would one day rise to bring the now dying race to its former glory. In his studies, he also learned of a Hylden champion that would rise to challenge the vampire's hero. Janos could not find any further information on this other warrior, but felt it was important to take note of it none the less, for the prophecies clearly stated that both this Hylden champion and the scion of balance were destined to battle.

Janos took it upon himself to ensure that the prophecies were not ignored, and vowed that he would never offer his own life to oblivion as so many others of his race had until the vampire hero came into being. He commissioned murals to be painted on the walls of the ancient vampires' citadel, as well as on the walls of the chamber the ancients had built beneath the pillars, that would not only illustrate the prophecies he believed in but also record the events of the war with the Hylden. This was Janos' attempt to ensure that all his work would not be forgotten, and that if he were ever to die his work could be continued by others.

The murals were drawn with artistic excellence. The vampires were always depicted with reverence; the Hylden race with demonic viciousness. The scion of balance was lionized with illustrations depicting its angelic wings and mighty essence; the Hylden champion exemplified with demonic burning eyes and a sword that blazed as if on fire. These images came to be drawn on literally every wall within the citadel.

As the vampires waited for the prophecies to be fulfilled, the Hylden curse worsened. Eventually the members of the vampire circle of nine were consumed by the same devastating plague of self-pity that the rest of the race had fallen victim to, and began sacrificing themselves to the void. With the remaining number of vampires dwindling down into nothing and no new vampires being born, the pillars began choosing human guardians in order to sustain themselves. The remaining vampires were resilient however, and would abduct these human guardians and turn them into vampires, passing on their dark gifts so that the legacy of their race could survive. Though they hated doing such acts, they were forced to do so in order to ensure that the pillars remained under the protection of vampires, and not of the humans who could not sustain the binding that held back the legions of the Hylden.

Janos was the very first to turn a human being. He chose a man named Vorador, a blacksmith from a little town in Nosgoth's northern mountains called Uschtenheim. He then commissioned Vorador to aid him in fulfilling the prophecies he had spent centuries studying. In these prophecies, he learned that the hero of the vampires was to wield a sword that would serve as his mighty weapon as well as a symbol of triumph for his race. At the behest of his master, Vorador created such a sword known as the Reaver blade. This weapon was enchanted by the essence of vampirism and had the same blood draining powers as the vampires did. Janos became the guardian of the blade, which he swore to keep in his possession and not inform anyone of until the prophesied hero arrived.

The Hylden somehow learned of the creation of the Reaver, and knew that they had to devise a defense for it, should they ever face this prophesized vampire hero. Their wises blacksmiths created an artifact known as the Nexus Stone, using some of the harnessed powers from the device their ancestors had left dormant in the caverns under Nosgoth's surface. The Nexus Stone was then tuned to the same magic force as the Reaver and could repel its vampiric powers. The Nexus Stone was entrusted to the Hylden's mightiest warrior, known as the Hylden Lord, who would guard it with his life until the time for their return to Nosgoth arrived.

Back in Nosgoth, the years passed but the scion of balance never came to being, and the ancient winged vampires were all but wiped out except for Janos. He continued to commission his turned sons and daughters to turn each new member of the circle into a vampire, for he knew that even with the powers the pillars gave to them, the human circle members could not sustain the binding that held the Hylden race in its dimensional prison.

The new vampires, each turned by one stronger then them, spread their dark gift to as many humans as they could. The human race grew to hate vampires more and more, and as more human circle members were being abducted, mankind began to revolt against their immortal predators.

This rebellion that the humans displayed got the attention of the long dormant elder god, who saw an opportunity to rid itself of the vampire race. The immortal gift that the vampires passed onto their victims prevented the souls of the dead from returning to the wheel of fate, and the elder god was most keen on riding such a hindrance to his cycle of life, death and afterlife from Nosgoth. The elder god called down to the time streamer Moebius, who was the newly appointed human guardian of the pillar of time, and seduced him with promises of immortality beyond any and all death in exchange for his services as guardian of time. Moebius accepted the elder god's offer, and was bestowed a magical scepter that held the power to incapacitate vampires, leaving them helpless.

Unaware that the intentions of the vampires were simply to sustain the barrier that repelled the Hylden, Moebius convinced Mortanius the necromancer and newest guardian of the pillar of death to join him in the rebellion against the vampires. Together, they founded the Sarafan, an order of holy sorcerer priests. The Sarafan repelled the vampires and brought the control of the circle of nine completely under human possession. With the powers of the circle of nine supporting them, the Sarafan obliterated the vampires of Nosgoth in a righteous purge that nearly wiped out the entire immortal race. Leading the Sarafan in battle was the mighty paladin and guardian of the pillar of conflict, Malek. His devotion to the circle and hatred of the vampire race was uncontested, and he led the Sarafan to countless victories during the vampire purge.

Under the command of Moebius and Malek, six warriors rose to the top ranks of the Sarafan priesthood. Moebius befriended each of these holy warriors, and became very close with the top general Raziel. Moebius preached to these warriors the evils of the vampire scourge and fueled their hatred of the unholy monsters they were sworn to defeat.

The vampire race was all but destroyed by the Sarafan's ruthless persecution. In the final years of the purge, only two survivors of the race remained: Janos Audron and his servant, Vorador. As time passed, the hunt for Janos continued until six of the Sarafan's top generals finally found his hidden lair near Uschtenheim and executed him. The commanding general of the search party, Raziel, tore Janos' black heart from his body and left his corpse to rot without it. The six Sarafan generals then stole the Reaver blade and returned it and the heart to the Sarafan stronghold, in which both the Sarafan and the members of the circle operated out of. In the inner sanctums of the stronghold, Janos' heart was christened the heart of darkness. The members of the circle soon discovered that the heart of darkness had the power to restore vampiric un-life. The heart was entrusted to Mortanius, guardian of death, with whom it would be safe from the hands of evil forces.

Vorador vowed vengeance upon the circle for supporting the Sarafan, the murderers of his master. He infiltrated the Sarafan stronghold and murdered six members of the circle of nine while searching for the heart of darkness, which he never found. During this attack, Malek, the defender of the circle, was unable to stop his onslaught, and fell to the vampire's blade. Both Mortanius and Moebius escaped with their lives, and Mortanius used his powers to fuse Malek's soul to his armor for eternity as punishment for failing to protect the members of the circle.

Years passed. The human race flourished under the protection of the new circle of nine. Vorador, the last remaining vampire, secluded himself in a dark forest where he spent many years trying to revive his master Janos Audron with no success. Losing all hope for his race, Vorador vowed never to concern himself with the affairs of mankind again. The Sarafan, with no enemy to battle, dissolved away peacefully. All seemed well; however the pillars were now in the control of humans, who were not meant to holster the burden of defending the barrier between Nosgoth and prison dimension that housed the Hylden.


	2. BLOOD OMEN: THE BIRTH OF KAIN

**BLOOD OMEN: THE BIRTH OF KAIN**

The Hylden sensed that the new guardians of the barrier that held them captive were not as strong as the ancient vampire guardians once were. They began influencing the minds of humans from across the dimensions, possessing their bodies in order to carry out their schemes. Their eyes turned to the circle of nine, who they felt would make the perfect hosts.

Mortanius was the first to become possessed by the Hylden. His hidden underground lair beneath Avernous Cathedral, the religious center of Nosgoth, soon became a worshiping ground for the many humans who were also being taken control of by the Hylden.

The dark corruption of the sinister race also infected the mind of the plainest Azimuth, guardian of the pillar of dimension. Through the plainest the Hylden hoped to better control mankind by using demons, disguised as "gods" to manipulate the feeble minds of the humans that worshiped at Avernous cathedral. The possessed Azimuth stole one of Moebius' time streaming devices in order to summon a mighty demon from Nosgoth's distant future and imprison it within Mortanius' subterranean lair. Once the demon was encased in a deep pit from which it couldn't escape, the Hylden possessed it as well, decreeing to its new followers that its name was Hash'ak'gik. Learning that the demon needed the blood of humans to sustain itself, the Hylden possessing Hash'ak'gik demanded sacrifices of human blood in return for protection from its terrible wraith. The ceremonies held in honor of this wicked demon were just the first of Mortanius' many unwilling acts of slavish servitude to the Hylden race.

Still under the Hylden influence, Mortanius murdered Ariel, the guardian of balance. This tipped the balance of Nosgoth into disarray and ruin. However, much of Mortanius' former spiritual strength was intact. Though he could do nothing to help the now dead balance guardian, Mortanius knew he had to somehow counter the plot of the Hylden. He consorted through the circle's most ancient archives until he discovered the truth about the pillars and their original function. Finally, Mortanius knew that it was the vampires who were the rightful guardians of the pillars. Mortanius finally understood that the salvation of Nosgoth could only be achieved by the hands of the vampires he and Moebius had all but wiped out.

Ariel's death came as a mortally devastating shock to her beloved Nuprapter, mentalist and guardian of the pillar of the mind. Fueled by hatred and self-pity, Nuprapter turned his magic on the circle of nine, infecting their minds with his madness. Each member of the circle began to slowly go insane, and in turn the pillars they were linked to began to weaken and crumble. This same corruption befell even the newest appointed guardian of balance: a nobleman named Kain. Born on the very day of Ariel's death, the corruption of the circle infected Kain's soul even before his first cry.

Mortanius was now faced with both the threatening influence of the Hylden, which grew stronger and stronger as the pillars grew weaker and weaker, as well as the corruption that was infecting both the circle and Nosgoth. After thirty years of struggling, the necromancer and the spirit of Ariel, which was bound to haunt the pillars of Nosgoth, finally made the decision to use the heart of darkness which the Sarafan had claimed and entrusted to the circle five centuries before to turn the new balance guardian Kain into a vampire. Only with a vampiric balance guardian could order be restored to the land and the binding of the Hylden be secured. Mortanius had Kain assassinated, and then resurrected him using the heart stolen from Janos Audron to turn him into a vampire.

The guardian of death offered Kain the chance to avenge his murder, never revealing all the details of the affair or his role as balance guardian to the now dead nobleman. Kain, blinded by hatred and the desire for revenge, seized the chance to seek his revenge without considering the cost. Resurrected with supernatural vampiric powers, he dispatched his assassins within a day of his rebirth. Satisfied, Kain now only wanted to pass on into his next life. He sought a way to release himself from his new cursed form. Seeking the pillars for advice, Kain discovered the specter of Ariel, who was forever doomed to haunt the corrupted pillars until balance was restored to Nosgoth. Ariel informed Kain of the condition of the pillars and the circle, and counseled him that if he wished to be liberated, he would have to destroy the corrupted circle of nine and restore balance to Nosgoth. As Mortanius had done when he raised Kain, Ariel neglected to inform him that his destiny was to assume the role of balance guardian. Kain agreed, and set out kill each member of the circle.

Kain began with the mentalist Nuprapter, who was the origin of the dementia the circle was now consumed by. The young vampire tracked the little man to his keep and challenged him. The paladin Malek was quick to arrive at Nuprapter's aid in an effort to uphold his duty to protect the members of the circle of nine; however the mentalist was overcome by so much arrogance and distrust of Malek, who had already failed the circle in the battle against Vorador, and dismissed the Sarafan warrior from battle. Nuprapter and Kain fought until Kain was able to sever his head and return it to the pillar of the mind. As the token that linked the pillar to the guardian, the pillar of the mind accepted the head of Nuprapter and was restored.

With the knowledge that Malek would arrive to aid every member of the circle Kain encountered, he set forth to dispatch the guardian of the pillar of conflict next. Locating Malek's bastion high in the snowy mountaintops of Nosgoth's northern mountains, Kain battled his way past Malek's army of spirit soldiers, who like their master were nothing more than the souls of undead warriors fused to their armors. The harsh environment and lack of life sustaining blood left Kain weak and in no condition to challenge Malek, and when the two met, Kain was unable to defeat him.

Returning to Ariel empty handed, Kain received word that the wise Oracle of Nosgoth could provide him with a means to defeat the paladin. Kain searched deep into the caverns of the northern mountains east of Malek's fortress, and finally found the Oracle, a seemingly senile old man who spoke in enigmatic riddles and perplexing babble. At first, Kain's question of how to defeat Malek bought him only an unrelated story about King Ottmar, lord of the distant land of Willendorf. The Oracle explained that this once mighty king was now paralyzed by a dreadful curse that now hung over his daughter. Kain's patience grew thin and he demanded that he be given advice about how to defeat Malek. The Oracle finally complied, and explain all about Malek's defeat at the hands of the vampire Vorador. Kain finally decided to seek out the ancient vampire, hoping that somehow this creature who had already been victorious against the paladin could offer him guidance on how he could destroy him once and for all. Following the directions given to him by the Oracle, Kain traveled to the black forest where Vorador's keep was hidden.

Kain braved the swamp and entered Vorador's secluded mansion. Nearly overwhelmed by the immense fortune that Vorador surrounded himself with, Kain pressed on through the labyrinth of the mansion until he finally encountered the dark warrior in his dining hall. Vorador invited Kain to join him in a feast, having not met another vampire in centuries. As the two drank, Vorador accounted his tale of how he defeated Malek of the Sarafan and took his vengeance upon the circle of nine for supporting the Sarafan holy war to exterminate the vampire race. As Kain listened, his regard for humanity began to fade into disgust. He started to realize that vampires were far more than the demons the humans thought they were. He felt himself embracing his curse as more of a blessing. As Vorador finished his long story, he gave Kain a sigil ring that he claimed would summon the old vampire to Kain's aid, should he ever need it.

Kain's visit with Vorador strengthened his resolve, and he set out for the next member of the circle. Following the advice of his benefactor Mortanius, whose voice somehow could reach his mind no matter where he traveled, Kain journeyed to the Dark Eden, a part of Nosgoth in which the forces of nature were perverted and twisted to suit the evil curiosity of the triad of sorcerers that dwelled there: Dejoule, the guardian of energy, Bane, the guardian of nature, and Anarcrothe, guardian of states. Kain battled through the armies of vile abominations and wrecked landscape until he came upon the three circle members.

Both Bane and Dejoule were eager to test Kain's abilities; however Anarcrothe fled the battle, summoning Malek to defend his escape. Frustrated, Kain countered the action by summoning Vorador to the battle as well. As Kain battled with the two remaining wizards, Vorador and Malek clashed until the final Sarafan warrior was finally obliterated. Kain also seized victory over his enemies, and he apprehended the three tokens that he would use to restore the pillars of conflict, energy and nature.

Ariel was pleased by Kain's progress, and continued his quest by pointing the vampire on the direction to Avernous, the religious capital of Nosgoth. It was there that Ariel claimed he could find the lady Azimuth, guardian of the pillar of dimension. Kain battled through the burning city, which was ravaged by demons summoned by the plainest. At the heart of Avernous, Kain entered a mighty cathedral. Inside, he searched for the lady Azimuth. Before finding her, Kain came across an ancient weapon known as the Soul Reaver. History told tales older then recollection about the blade that would feed off the souls of any creature it struck, and feeling a sense of kinship with the blade, Kain claimed it as his own.

With his new weapon, Kain made short work of the lady Azimuth, and took not only her third eye—the token that linked her to the pillar of dimension—but also the time streaming device she had stolen from Moebius. He returned both to Ariel, restoring the pillar of dimension and keeping the time streaming device for future use.

Ariel expressed her concern about the Nemesis, a monstrous dictator whose army was sweeping across Nosgoth's northern lands, crushing everything that it came across. Though Kain felt he had no reason to involve himself in these affairs, Ariel assured him that his next victim, Moebius, the guardian of time was somehow involved. With this in mind, Kain agreed to somehow put an end to the Nemesis and its army. Ariel advised Kain to seek out King Ottmar and rally the forces of Willendorf to counter the menace.

Kain traveled to Willendorf and met with King Ottmar, using his magic to cast an illusionary visage of a nobleman in order to gain audience with the king. Ottmar would hear nothing of what Kain had to say however. He was consumed with a deepening depression. It seemed his daughter had been afflicted with a curse that left her as nothing more than a lifeless puppet. To celebrate her eighth birthday, the king had held a contest, declaring that whoever could present him with the finest doll in the land would be granted a royal favor. Hundreds of dolls were presented but the winner was obvious. Elzevir the doll maker made a toy of such beauty that all were captivated by it, and all he would take in payment was a lock of the princess' hair. Soon after, she fell into a lifeless slumber. The king decreed at that point that anyone who could restore her to her former self would have his kingdom. Thus, Kain's hunt for the doll maker began.

Searching through the southern plains, Kain discovered Elzevir's demonic little playhouse, and confronted the crazy old man inside. Unwilling to reason with Kain, Elzevir attacked him, claiming that the girl's soul that he had stolen was rightfully his. Kain beheaded the little man with ease, somewhat bewildered by the possible intentions the strange toy maker had in mind for the girl's soul.

Returning to Willendorf, Kain presented to Ottmar both the doll containing the princess's soul and the doll-maker's head. Ottmar offered his entire kingdom to Kain in gratitude. Kain requested not his throne but his army as payment for his service, ordering that the Army of Hope, Willendorf's proud militia, be marshaled at once to confront the legions of the Nemesis.

Willendorf's army met the hoard of the Nemesis that very day on the field of battle in what was later known as "The Battle of the Last Stand". Enticed by the possibility of such a bloody massacre, Kain plunged himself into the heart of the battle, feeding himself on warriors of hoard and hope alike. The battle waged for days until the fatal moment of King Ottmar's death. At that point, the lines of the Army of Hope were shattered, and the fate of Nosgoth was now in the hands of the Nemesis. Before he could escape the battle though, Kain was transported through time to a different area by means of the time streaming device he had acquired, which had activated on its own accord.

Kain found himself in a new land similar to the one he knew. The carnage of battle was absent an in its place a damning calm surrounded by lush greenery was present. The time streaming device laid in shattered pieces at his feet, and Kain realized that wherever or whenever he was, he was stranded there.

Kain explored for days until he came across the kingdom of William the Just, the mighty lord of Nosgoth who was said to have been somehow corrupted and transformed into the wicked Nemesis. It became apparent to Kain that he had been sent fifty years into Nosgoth's past. Kain knew that this was the guardian of time's work, and began searching for the elusive Moebius.

Entering the fortress of William the Just, Kain discovered Moebius and King William dealing in secret. Moebius offered the King weapons of immense power and magic, one of which Kain recognized as the Soul Reaver, which he had also just acquired. He knew then what it was Moebius was up to. By traveling back in time and giving the king these weapons of evil, Moebius knew that William would become corrupted and transform into the tyrannical Nemesis.

Although Moebius once again escaped Kain's hunt, the vampire was able to confront William the Just. The two battled, each armed with the Soul Reaver. As they fought, the walls of the great castle seemed to shift and warp. Time began to distort more and more as their two swords clashed again and again. Kain wasn't sure what this unusual phenomenon was, but he could only speculate that it was due to the raw power of the two Soul Reavers as they clashed against each other. Kain finally claimed victory and the Soul Reaver devoured the king's righteous soul. With William dead, Kain felt that Moebius' plan was halted—his pawn removed from the board.

Searching through the king's possessions, Kain discovered yet another time streaming device, which once again activated on its own, propelling Kain back to the time he was from. In the days that followed the vampire's departure from the time of William the Just, the saintly king was entombed within the Sarafan stronghold. His version of the Soul Reaver—split in two shards—was placed upon his tomb.

The self-assured vampire, now returned to his own time, emerged from William's now dilapidated kingdom and continued his search for Moebius. It was not long though before Kain discovered that the land he once knew had changed. The humans who once regarded him with fear now sought to savagely destroy him upon sight. Kain realized that the folly of his actions had fallen upon his own shoulders, for the people of Nosgoth had become consumed by a hunger all their own for vampire blood. Kain's murder of William the Just, a noble and saintly guardian of the land, had driven the people of the land into a frenzied rage, and they searched Nosgoth relentlessly for every last vampire to destroy. Regarded as a martyred saint, William had been buried in the heart of the Sarafan stronghold, along with his shattered version of the Soul Reaver.

Kain arrived at a gathering of humans just in time to see them behead their latest victim: the vampire Vorador. Next to the guillotine, spouting preaches of holy righteousness and vampire-hating propaganda was the Oracle of Nosgoth who Kain came to realize was in fact the time streamer Moebius. Kain's rage was overwhelming and he slaughtered each and every last vampire hunter in the vicinity, before turning on the guardian of time himself. Kain took the head of Moebius, who had carelessly forgotten his vampire disarming scepter, as well as his enchanted hourglass both with the greatest of pleasure.

Meanwhile, deep within the caverns below Avernous cathedral, Mortanius watched with satisfaction over Kain's progress. Feeling that the time was right, Mortanius beckoned Kain to return to the pillars, where the vampire would finally have his revenge for his murder.

Mortanius laid in wait at the pillars of Nosgoth for his undead son to return and destroy the last member of the circle. The necromancer could feel the powers of the Hylden growing stronger, and he knew that if Kain did not act quickly the Hylden would possess him entirely. Kain had to destroy the remainder of the corrupted circle in order to restore balance to the land and halt the plans of the Hylden. However, while in wait, Mortanius was confronted by Anarcrothe, the guardian of states and only other circle member yet to face his demise at Kain's hands.

Anarcrothe accused Mortanius of betraying the circle of nine, claiming that the necromancer was responsible for the creation of the vampire Kain. Mortanius tried to explain to the alchemist that the events he had set in motion were both necessary and unavoidable, but Anarcrothe, blindly believing that the powers the pillars bestowed on their guardians were rightfully theirs to use as they saw fit, would not listen to him and instead attacked Mortanius.

As the guardian of death, Mortanius had little difficulty destroying Anarcrothe. At that moment, Kain emerged, having heard the entire conversation the two circle members had been having. Though admiring of Mortanius' machinations, both Kain and the necromancer that had raised him knew that it was their destiny to battle. Mortanius felt the Hylden taking full possession of him, and ordered Kain to destroy him. Though victorious, Kain realized that Mortanius was now transformed. The enchanted magic of the Hylden had transformed the necromancer into a mighty demon.

The Hylden demon began taunting Kain, and feeling that the little vampire had served his purpose, attempted to destroy him. Kain was able to best the Hylden demon in battle with the help of the Soul Reaver, and destroyed the Hylden monster instead.

At last all the members of the circle of nine were destroyed. Kain restored the pillar of time, states and death, and waited for the land to heal itself. However, the final pillar of balance remained corrupted. Ariel finally explained to Kain that he was in fact the balance guardian, and that to restore balance to the land, he would have to sacrifice himself entirely to heal the pillar of balance.

Ariel presented Kain with a monumental decision: either martyr himself in order to restore Nosgoth, or refuse the sacrifice, thus destroying the pillars and damning the land. Kain knew that he was the last remaining vampire in Nosgoth, and that if he chose to destroy himself, it would mean the end of his race. Feeling betrayed by Ariel and Mortanius, Kain once again felt the familiar contempt for humanity he had begun to experience during his first visit with Vorador. Moebius' vampire hunters, which he had killed countless numbers of not hours before that moment, also reminded him of how petty and hypocritical mankind could be. With all this in mind, Kain finally made his choice.

Kain refused the sacrifice. The pillars of Nosgoth crumbled into absolute ruin, and the land of Nosgoth plummeted into unconditional chaos. Caring not for the fate of the world, Kain felt that it was his duty to return the land of Nosgoth to what he felt was the nature order of existence: vampires ruling over humans.


	3. BLOOD OMEN: THE HYLDEN LORD

**BLOOD OMEN: THE HYLDEN LORD**

Setting his throne upon the now destroyed pillar of balance, Kain began his unholy campaign to force Nosgoth into his own vampiric rule. He began razing generals and an undead army to aid him in his quest. His first order was to raise four generals from the freshly slaughtered Army Of Hope: Marcus, Sebastian, Faustus and Magnus. With these four generals under his command, Kain began his campaign to rule all of Nosgoth.

200 years passed, and Kain's empire was growing steadily. However, the ignorant vampire lord was unaware that he had destroyed the ancient barrier that held the Hylden race at bay. When he chose to destroy the pillars, a rift in the barrier was torn that allowed a single Hylden warrior to escape. This was the Hylden Lord, guardian of the Nexus stone. Finding he was still very weak, the Hylden lord possessed a human descendent of the ancient Sarafan warriors and became known as the Sarafan Lord.

The Sarafan Lord quickly founded a fortified city where he used the Nexus Stone to create a portal to the dimensional prison of his race. Hylden warriors and magicians began to travel to Nosgoth, and following the example set by their savoir, possessed more members of the human race. The Sarafan Lord now had an army disguised as the ancient members of the Sarafan. With this army and the magic powers of both the Nexus Stone and his race, the Sarafan Lord set out to challenge the forces of Kain's vampire empire.

Late one dark night, the forces of Kain's army and the Sarafan legions, under the command of the Sarafan Lord, clashed in a brutal battle just outside one of Nosgoth's major cities known as Meridian. The Sarafan army was ruthless, as it had been in the ages before, and with the Hylden magic they now possessed was able to best the vampires in battle. In the final climax of the battle, Kain was struck down by the Sarafan Lord, who somehow resisted the powers of the Soul Reaver using the Nexus Stone. His army was crushed, and Kain was knocked into a coma that would last more than 200 years before he finally awoke.

During the time of Kain's absence, the land of Nosgoth fell under the rule of the disguised Hylden, who reigned over the land with a tyrannical iron fist. The remaining legions of Kain's broken army were weeded out and destroyed by the deadly new magic forces of the Sarafan warriors, and before long only a few members of the vampire race remained. Forming an underground resistance known as the Cabal, the vampires hid the dormant body of Kain from the Sarafan for two centuries, until he finally awoke from his deep slumber.

A lieutenant of the Cabal, Umah, greeted Kain as he rose from his coma. Disoriented and suffering from a powerful amnesia, Kain could not remember anything about his past. Umah began to explain everything about the Sarafan and the war between it and the Cabal. She explained to Kain that it was the Sarafan Lord that had dispatched him, and Kain became enraged. Threatening to destroy the Sarafan Lord, Kain set out to seek his vengeance. However, Umah stopped him, claiming that he was far too weak and in no condition to face his old nemesis. Umah suggested instead that Kain meet the leader of the Cabal, who could advise him as to what to do.

Kain set out through the streets of Meridian to find the Cabal headquarters. Along the way, he encountered Faustus, one of his former generals. Faustus informed Kain that he was now in the service of the Sarafan Lord, who promised him protection from the Sarafan in exchange for his services. Kain was disgusted at his former general's betrayal towards the vampire race, and destroyed Faustus, setting his treacherous former servant ablaze deep in one of Meridian's subterranean furnaces.

Finally finding his way into the Cabal Sanctuary, Kain met with the leader of the Cabal, who regarded him as a prodigal son and claimed that Kain was the only one that can turn the tide of the war in favor of the vampires. Before the two could get beyond their greetings, word came that the Sarafan had kidnapped Umah. The leader of the Cabal beseeched Kain to rescue her, stating that Umah held information vital to the success of the Cabal's plan to counter the Sarafan. Kain traveled to the Sarafan sanctuary at the heart of Meridian, where he encountered another of his former generals, Marcus. Like Faustus, Marcus was also a servant of the Sarafan Lord, and Kain once again felt it was his obligation to rid the vampire race of any and all traitors. Thus, he murdered Marcus.

It did not take Kain long before he found Umah and freed her from her prison. As the two vampires attempted to make their escape from the Sarafan sanctuary, the Sarafan Lord, who brandished the Soul Reaver, confronted them. Kain saw what he believed was his opportunity to get his revenge, and challenged the Sarafan Lord. However, his power was no match for the Lord's, who struck him down yet again with the Soul Reaver. Before the Sarafan Lord could destroy them both, Umah used her magic to teleport the two vampires back to the sanctuary of the Cabal.

Once secure in the Cabal headquarters, Umah reported what she had learned during her searches of the northern industrial quarter of Meridian. She explained that the Sarafan were using their magic powers to open gates to other parts of Nosgoth for some unknown reason. She further explained that the portals were being held open by a single source of power that resonated from an unusual artifact. Umah speculated that this artifact was the Nexus Stone, which got the attention of the other members of the Cabal immediately. Curious, Kain inquired what this all meant. The leader of the Cabal explained the purpose of the Nexus Stone to Kain, and added that it was the Sarafan Lord who wore the Nexus Stone the night of Kain's defeat. With the power of the artifact, Kain's Soul Reaver had no effect on the Sarafan Lord, giving the warrior the advantage and ensuring his victory over the vampire emperor.

Kain vowed to collect the Nexus Stone, figuring he would use the Sarafan Lord's own trick against him. Kain ventured into the industrial complex and discovered the location of the artifact. Before he could seize it, the third of Kain's mutinous generals, Sebastian confronted him. Kain made short work of Sebastian and seized the Nexus stone. In his dying breaths, Sebastian explained that the portal the Nexus Stone held open lead to an ancient machine deep beneath the surface of Nosgoth. Though he did not know exactly how, Sebastian warned Kain that it was through this device that the Sarafan Lord's victory was assured.

Kain returned with the Nexus stone to the Cabal, and informed them of the information he had acquired in the industrial complex. The leader of the Cabal decided to send Kain to see the Seer, a powerful and ancient being that he somehow knew from the past. He claimed that if anyone could tell them what the device that the Sarafan Lord was attempting to use, the Seer would somehow know.

Kain left Meridian in search for the Seer. Along the mountain path that led to her dwelling, Kain encountered vicious demons not unlike the one he witness Mortanius transform into during the battle at the pillars. Kain had no time to ponder over the connection however. Before long he found the Seer, secluded in a small hut on the outskirts of Meridian. The Seer was neither human nor vampire, but instead some unknown creature that Kain had never seen before. The Seer instructed Kain to destroy the ancient device, for if the Sarafan Lord was planning to use it, she claimed that all of Nosgoth would be doomed.

The Seer guided Kain to the entrance to the underground labyrinth that would lead him to the device's chamber. Not far into the caverns, Kain came across a large imprisoned beast. Deformed and putrid in appearance, Kain nearly passed the beast by without a second thought. However the monster beckoned him to aid it, claiming that it knew who Kain was, though Kain could not recognize the monster, which he dismissed as being a result of his amnesia. The monster explained that the creators of the device that threatened Nosgoth had imprisoned it there and were using the monster's blood to power it. In order to destroy the device, which rivaled the entire city itself in size, Kain would have to consult its builder.

Kain immediately assumed that the Sarafan Lord was the builder, but the monster corrected him, stating that the original builder was now imprisoned in a place known as the Eternal Prison. Kain had heard of such a place, where time supposedly stood still and the most devious of criminals were sent to spend eternity paying for their crimes.

Following the directions the monster Kain had befriended, Kain traveled to the Eternal Prison. The wicked land was a horrifying nightmare that defied all the laws of nature. Kain speculated that the prison might have been an evolution of the Dark Eden he had fought Bane and Dejoule in 400 years earlier, but he couldn't be certain. Though slightly intimidated, Kain would not stop until he found the builder of the device and discovered how to destroy it. Kain searched through the terrifying hallways of the prison that echoed with the screams of its prisoners, battling his way past the prison guardians and dodging the insane inmates. One inmate he encountered was a vampire, who had clearly been insane for centuries. It pursued Kain throughout the prison, never giving him a moment to rest.

At last, Kain confronted the deranged vampire and put it out of its misery. Before the creature fell into the slumber of death, it revealed its identity as Magnus, Kain's former top general. Explaining that he had tried to confront the other three generals for their crimes of treason against Kain, Magnus confessed his own defeat at the hands of the Sarafan Lord and his banishment to the Eternal Prison as punishment. Kain gave Magnus the peace he requested and continued his search for the creator of the device.

At long last Kain found the builder, who bore a shocking resemblance to the Seer he had only just finished council with. The builder went into great detail about the origins of the device that Kain inquired about. He explained to Kain about the ancient war between the two historic races, and how the one race-which he the builder belonged to-had begun construction of what was to be their ultimate weapon. They had captured a massive organism known as the Mass, which had the power to kill living creatures through its thoughts alone, and were harnessing its powers through a giant mechanical device deep underground.

Kain had heard enough. At once he wanted to know how to slay the Mass and render the device nonfunctional. The builder gave his blood to Kain, telling him that only the blood of his race could kill the Mass.

Returning to the entrance of the device, Kain once again came upon the monster that had first sent him to the Eternal Prison. Sensing a change in Kain, the beast knew that Kain now possessed the means to destroy the Mass that was using it for energy. The beast felt it was finally time to give Kain all the details about his captors. It explained to Kain that he was being held captive by an ancient race of beings known as the Hylden, who possessed the members of the Sarafan. Kain realized that the Sarafan Lord must have actually been a Hylden warrior, and that the strange magic powers that they were now using to defeat the forces of the Cabal were of Hylden origin. Once again Kain had little time to ponder over these developments. The beast encouraged Kain to descend into the device's labyrinth and destroy it. Kain obliged, using the builders blood to kill the Mass after battling his way through countless Hylden warriors and demons. As he battled the Hylden warriors, Kain finally realized that both the Seer and the builder of the device were both members of the Hylden race, though much less demonic than the monstrous warriors he was now fighting.

Upon returning to the prison of the monster, Kain discovered that it was gone, and in its place sat something different. Before him stood a blue skinned, winged vampire, who introduced himself as Janos Audron. He explained to Kain the wars between the race of ancient vampires and the Hylden, and how the ancients had banished the Hylden to another dimension. The Hylden had wanted revenge ever since, desiring to return to Nosgoth, destroy the vampire race, enslave the humans and rule forever. Kain learned from Janos that when he refused to sacrifice himself and thereby destroyed the pillars of Nosgoth, which were created and could only be sustained by the ancient vampires, the barrier that held the Hylden in their dimensional prison weakened just enough for the mightiest of the Hylden warriors to slip through into Nosgoth. This was the Sarafan Lord, who had taken possession of Janos when it first entered Nosgoth and enslaved him in the prison that was connected to the sleeping Mass.

As Kain listened to Janos' story, he realized that if he had made the decision to sacrifice himself and restore balance to the land, he would inevitably end up dooming Nosgoth anyway, for he would have made the vampire race extinct, and thus destroyed the last chance the pillars had to sustain themselves. The decision Ariel had posed to him was rigged no matter which choice he made, and Kain realized that the enemy he now faced was most diabolical indeed, and that the pillars belonged rightfully to the vampires. Kain also began to ponder exactly how Janos Audron, who had been executed by the original members of the Sarafan five hundred years before Kain's birth as a human, came to be standing before him now. Feeling that both the sabotage of his decision and Janos' mysterious appearance were not important at this point, Kain listened closely as Janos continued his story.

By using Janos' blood, the Mass awoke and began powering the device. This process slowly drained Janos of his powers and deformed him into a snarling beast. The Sarafan Lord had then constructed a gateway between Nosgoth and the demonic dimension in which the Hylden were held. Learning of the long dormant order of the Sarafan, the Lord revived the sacred order of vampire hunters and along with many other members of his kind, took control of the Sarafan. By using the Nexus Stone, an artifact created for the Hylden warrior centuries ago, the Sarafan Lord had defeated Kain in mortal combat and stolen the Soul Reaver.

Kain felt somewhat overwhelmed by everything the ancient vampire had to say. Janos concluded his long story by stating that if the portal that the Sarafan Lord had created could be destroyed, the Hylden would be unable to sustain themselves in Nosgoth, and would all return to the demonic prison dimension.

The two vampires returned to the Cabal sanctuary, where Janos informed the leader of the Cabal of everything he had told Kain. He told the members of the Cabal of a hidden Hylden city that had been created during Kain's long slumber where the Hylden portal was located and the members of the sinister race operated out of. Janos formulated a plan to teleport the forces of the Cabal to the Hylden city and assault it directly, however the Hylden, masters of ingenuity, had created a shield that protected the city from such an attack. The leader of the Cabal commissioned Kain and Umah to infiltrate the Hylden city and deactivate the shield. Kain protested however, claiming that he would be better suited to carry out the mission on his own. Both Janos and the leader of the Cabal assured him that Umah would be of great help, and Kain was forced to agree.

As the two vampires made their way to the wharfs where they planned to sneak onto a ship to the Hylden city, Umah began to question Kain's intentions for when he recovered his Soul Reaver and defeated the Sarafan Lord. Kain explained that he would once again strive to return the land of Nosgoth to his rule, destroying anyone and anything that stood in his way. At that point, Umah suddenly stole the Nexus Stone from Kain, claiming that she would not trade one dictator for another. Before Kain could question her, she disappeared into the night, declaring that she would destroy the Sarafan Lord herself and bring the glory of the vampires back to the land of Nosgoth.

Kain searched the wharfs for Umah, finally catching up with her during a battle with the Sarafan warriors. Umah had suffered many wounds and was nearing death. She pleaded with Kain to save her, but Kain refused, instead slitting her throat with his own claws. Kain had no room in his new empire for traitors, he thought to himself as he watched Umah die. Though slightly remorseful for losing what he believed would be his future queen, Kain's resolve remained in tact. He reclaimed the Nexus Stone and continued on his journey to the Hylden city.

Upon arriving at the Hylden city, Kain was once again confronted by the Sarafan Lord. However, the Sarafan Lord could not do any damage to Kain, since he has the Nexus Stone to protect him from the Soul Reaver. Kain revealed not only that the ancient device had been destroyed, but that he now knew the true identity of his enemy. The Sarafan Lord congratulated him on his discovery, and laughed as he explained that the armies of the Hylden were marshalling at that moment in order to launch an attack on Nosgoth, and that there was nothing Kain could do to stop them. At that point, the Sarafan Lord disappeared.

Kain infiltrated the Hylden fortress with great skill and determination, and located the generator of the shield that prevented the Cabal from teleporting to the Hylden city. Upon destroying the generator, both the Cabal leader and Janos teleported to Kain's side. They congratulated Kain on his success; however the Cabal leader was confused why Umah was not present. Kain explained that he had dispatched her as punishment for her treason. Enraged, the leader of the Cabal threatened Kain's life. Janos was quick to break up the dispute, claiming there was no time to debate over such a petty matter. At that moment, the Sarafan Lord appeared and using the Soul Reaver's magic wounded the leader of the Cabal greatly. While Janos was left to tend to the dying vampire, Kain pursued the Sarafan Lord to the Hylden portal.

As the two battled directly above the swirling Hylden portal, Kain found that he was unable to use the Nexus stone to close the gate. If he were to release it, he would be vulnerable to the Soul Reaver. The stalemate seemed almost irresolvable, but at that point, Janos appeared. Informing them that the leader of the Cabal was dead, the ancient vampire attacked the Sarafan Lord, knocking the Soul Reaver out of his hands. Kain reclaimed his long lost weapon just in time to see the Sarafan Lord hurl Janos into the Hylden gate. Kain knew that that moment was his only chance, and he threw the Nexus Stone into the gate, forcing it closed.

Every last Hylden already in Nosgoth released their grip on the human Sarafan warriors as the portal cut them off from the energies that sustained them. The Sarafan Lord, lying nearly dead at Kain's feet, used his final breaths to prophesize the return once again of the Hylden and that their return would mark the demise of the vampire race. Kain smirked and claimed that when such a time came, he would be ready for them. He then fed the Soul Reaver the soul of the Sarafan Lord, destroying the Hylden warrior forever.

Kain left the ruined Hylden city, and returned to the Cabal. Learning that the Hylden had destroyed their former leader, the Cabal appointed Kain as their new leader. No longer under the influence of the Hylden, the Sarafan's dedication to the will of their ancestors would not die so easily, and the remaining Sarafan forces vowed that they would not give up their battle to destroy the vampires. Kain vowed to destroy the now leaderless Sarafan and conquer all of Nosgoth.


	4. SOUL REAVER: THE RISE OF RAZIEL

**SOUL REAVER: THE RISE OF RAZIEL**

In the century that followed, Kain restored his army and led them to many victories over the Sarafan. In an act of ultimate vengeance, Kain infiltrated the Sarafan stronghold and robbed the corpses of the six ancient Sarafan holy generals: Raziel, Turel, Dumah, Rahab, Zephon and Melchiah. Kain breathed his unholy soul into these once proud warrior priests and turned them into his own undead sons. The act filled the bodies of the six humans with a small part of Kain's soul. As a result, the six warriors had absolutely no memory of their former human life, and thus became the perfect servants of the tyrannical vampire.

Devoutly more loyal then Kain's first generals had been the six lieutenants served Kain for 1000 years without question. In that time, the decaying land of Nosgoth was divided into different territories, each governed by one of the six generals. Each vampire general had his own clan and territory, all of which were situated in a web around the pillars of Nosgoth, where Kain's throne was seated and around which the sanctuary of the clans was created.

Over the centuries, Kain had evolved a great deal, gaining new powers as the hundreds of years passed by. However, on what was to be the tenth century of his rule, Kain's first son Raziel was blessed with a gift that Kain had not yet received: a pair of bat like wings. This marked the first occasion where one of his sons had evolved beyond Kain.

Kain was overcome with envy. In an act of blind rage, Kain tore the newly formed wings from his first-born son's back, ruining them forever. Kain ordered that Raziel be damned to burn in the swirling vortex of the lake of the dead, a cursed whirlpool Kain had created in vile memory of Umah to which he could sentence traitors and weaklings. As his brothers Turel and Dumah held him inches from the edge of the cliff, Raziel heard Kain command them to cast him in.

Raziel plummeted into the abyss. The acidic touch of the waters burned his vampiric skin away and propelled the vampire's mind into a cataclysmic nightmare of suffering from which there seemed to be no end.

Kain continued to rule over Nosgoth for centuries after Raziel's execution. Still fueled by envious rage, Kain had Raziel's clan wiped out, believing that his first lieutenant's offspring might also pose a threat to him in the future. However, Raziel's unique evolution continued to bother the vampiric lord even after his first son fell into the abyss. Kain decided to seek advice in the northern mountains of Nosgoth where he first met Moebius, disguised as the Oracle, in hopes that he could somehow figure out why Raziel had evolved beyond him.

Traveling deep into the caverns of the Oracle, Kain discovered a hidden place known as the Chronoplast chamber. Inside he discovered that Moebius had access to devices that could not only transport him through time, but also allow him to gaze into the streams of time itself. Kain secluded himself inside the chamber for 100 years, studying the workings of the machines. At last Kain was able to tune the devices and observe what the future had in store for him-and for Nosgoth.

Through the Chronoplast, Kain witnessed the return of his son Raziel, transformed into a creature that fed off of the souls of its enemies. The vampire watched on in astonishment as the device foretold how Raziel would rise from the abyss and hunt his remaining sons and then himself, seeking vengeance for his banishment into the damning abyss. The two would do battle before the pillars, where Kain observed a future version of himself shatter his ancient weapon, the Soul Reaver, upon Raziel. Somehow surviving such an attack, Raziel would pursue Kain across Nosgoth and finally encounter his former master yet again in the Chronoplast where the vampire now stood gazing at these images.

Kain and Raziel would do battle once again there in the Chronoplast chamber, Raziel now armed with a wicked wraith blade, until Kain would escape through a portal into Nosgoth's past. Kain would travel to the year of his birth as a human, thirty years before the corruption of the pillars, and Raziel would follow. There, in that time, Raziel would meet the time streamer Moebius, who would coax him into pursuing Kain and finally ending his immortal life.

Kain watched in horror as the Chronoplast depicted in clear detail the very hour upon which Raziel, using the Soul Reaver plucked from the tomb of William the Just and mysteriously repaired, would end Kain's life within the ancient Sarafan stronghold, where Moebius' vampire hunters operated. The vision made Kain's black heart sink, but still the images of the Chronoplast carried on forward. Raziel was then destined to be further manipulated by Moebius into traveling back in time another five hundred years to the age of the Sarafan and Janos Audron. Through events organized by the time streamer, Raziel would unwillingly lead the holy warriors, headed by his human Sarafan counterpart, to Janos' lair. The human Raziel would then execute the ancient vampire and claim both his heart of darkness and the Reaver blade that Janos had guarded with his life for centuries, returning both to the stronghold of the Sarafan.

Enraged and bewildered by the barbaric nature of his once human self, Raziel would then attack the Sarafan stronghold, where he would find the Reaver blade lying in wait for him. This was a trap set by Moebius, for after the Raziel exacted his revenge on the Sarafan, killing five of the top generals and then battling his own human self to the death, the Reaver blade that Janos had guarded would join with Raziel's wraith blade, go berserk, and imprison Raziel's ravenous soul into itself to become the Soul Reaver, which Kain was all too familiar with. It would then be claimed by Moebius, would keep it for five centuries and then give it to William the Just in an effort to corrupt him and turn him into the Nemesis.

Kain had seen enough. Horrified by the cruel path that fate had in store for both him and Raziel, the vampire vowed to somehow find a way to alter his fate. Kain spent yet another 100 years studying all of Moebius' ancient libraries. During his studies, Kain was devastated to learn that the machinations of history could not be altered. He discovered that every event he had witnessed was destined to happen, and that fate would not yield in the slightest, regardless of any action he took.

Kain was not willing to accept this; for he knew from experience that fate in fact could somehow be changed. Searching his memory for the events of his youth as a fledgling vampire, Kain reflected up his battle with William the Just. The mighty king was destined to become the Nemesis, yet somehow Kain had prevailed in murdering William and successfully altering history so that the Nemesis never came into existence. But how had he done it? Kain pondered the question for years until he finally realized the answer.

During his battle with William the Just, both warriors had been armed with the Soul Reaver. Kain could remember the walls of the hallway in which they fought distorting as they battled. Kain realized that this was all a result of a distortion in the streams of history, which was all due to the paradox introduced by the existence of two identical Soul Reavers in the same space and time. This was the answer Kain was searching for. If he could somehow bring two incarnations of the Soul Reaver together, a paradox would occur that would allow him to be able to force a change in the supposedly unalterable flow of fate, and thus modify history so that the inevitable doom of both himself and his first lieutenant could be avoided.

Kain knew from witnessing the events in the Chronoplast that the ravenous spirit in the Soul Reaver was in fact Raziel's soul. The vampire lord returned to his throne to sit and formulate a plan that would make use of his new knowledge in the efforts of defying his inevitable destiny.

Deep in the underworld, while Kain sat above and conceived his master plan, what seemed like an eternity passed for the destroyed vampire Raziel. After centuries of pain, the torment receded, returning Raziel's mind from the edge of madness. He rose to find himself in a dark dwelling that teemed with the essence of death. As he collected himself, he realized he was somehow transformed. He felt changed in ways that made no sense to him, and the questions in his mind began to overwhelm him.

A voice spoke to Raziel from the darkness. It echoed off the walls of the strange environment that he now found himself in. Raziel called out to the voice, demanding an explanation for his current situation. The voice explained that Raziel had been destroyed by the decent into the abyss, and that it was through the grace of this unseen benefactor that he now existed at all. Overcome by despair, Raziel felt that such a fate as he now suffered was worse than oblivion. The strange voice again spoke to Raziel, explaining that his unique resurrection was for a significant purpose. Introducing itself as the voice of the ancient elder god that governed the laws of life, death and rebirth, Raziel was informed that he had been reborn as a creature of the spectral world—a reaper of souls—and that this had been done to give him the opportunity to avenge himself.

The elder god explained that Kain and his vampire race had corrupted the land of Nosgoth for far too long. The vampires and their immortal souls disrupted the balanced cycle from which the elder god claimed it needed the energies from in order to sustain the life of the land. By giving Raziel the opportunity to rid Nosgoth of his former vampire brethren, the elder god's hope was that Raziel could restore the natural flow of energy to and from the wheel of fate, where it drew its own existence from. Like Kain had eons ago, Raziel jumped at the chance for revenge without a second thought given to what the costs might be.

The elder god schooled Raziel in the ways of his new existence. Raziel had become a creature that was not only beyond death, but could shift between both the spectral plane—the world of the dead—and the material plane—the world of the living. Raziel also discovered that his blood thirst had been replaced by a deeper need. He had become a devourer of souls, and would have to consume the lost souls of the underworld as well as those of any foes he vanquished to sustain himself. By consuming these souls, the wheel of fate was thus able to churn once again, allowing the elder god to sustain its existence.

Emerging from the underworld and finding himself for the very first time in the material plane since his rebirth, Raziel discovered that the world around him had changed, altered by what appeared to be centuries of decay and cataclysm. The elder god explained that the world had spiraled into ruin since Raziel's banishment from it centuries before. The reaper of souls returned to the sanctuary of the clans only to find it in a heaping pile of rubble which he could find no apparent entrance into. Continuing past the now dead halls of his former glory, Raziel once again came across the cliff that stood before the endlessly swirling vortex of the abyss. Though much of Nosgoth's landscape had changed, the Lake of the Dead had remained constant, and gave Raziel his bearings.

Remembering that his clan territory was to the west, Raziel quickly returned to his former home to discover how his children had faired all the years he had been gone. He was not prepared for what he found as he walked into the smoldering ruin of his clan's territory. His entire clan had apparently been extinct for years. Raziel felt the rage churning inside him, and he set forth on the road past his territory to that of his youngest brother Melchiah in search for the reason why his clan was nowhere to be found.

As the last of Kain's sons to be born, Melchiah was the weakest of the six lieutenants. Raziel cleaved his way through the half dead offspring of Melchiah's brood, feeding himself on their souls until he finally encountered his brother deep in the champers of the necropolis that Melchiah used as a refuge.

The years had deformed Melchiah's appearance, and the once mighty vampire was now a grotesque hulking mass of putrid deformity. Raziel questioned the vampire about Kain and his clan, but Melchiah, devoutly loyal to his master, attacked Raziel. The reaper of souls was able to trap the monster in a giant meat grinder and destroy his brother. Consuming Melchiah's soul, Raziel felt his own powers begin to increase. He could now feel he had a ghostlike ability to pass through insubstantial barriers like gates and bars while in the spectral realm. With this new gift, Raziel felt he now had the means to enter the sanctuary of the clans.

Returning to the ruins, Raziel shifted his way through the bars that blocked his path and enter the sanctuary. Finding his way into the inner chamber where the pillars and Kain's throne was located, Raziel found his former master Kain waiting for him. Fueled by fury, Raziel demanded that Kain explain what had happened to his clan. Without so much as a hint of concern, Kain simply stated that he had the power to destroy at his own will whatever he created. This response only infuriated Raziel further, who screamed claims that Kain had no right to play god, and that his decisions were unconscionable.

Kain joined the heated argument with a frightening anger of his own. Claiming that Raziel could not possibly comprehend the monumental amount of responsibilities Kain had spent a thousand lifetimes shouldering as he made one impacting decision after another in his rise to power, the ancient vampire drew his age old weapon the Soul Reaver and stated that both Nosgoth, and Raziel, had outlasted their usefulness.

Raziel knew what it meant when Kain drew the Soul Reaver in anger, and he prepared himself for what he felt would be the battle that would end him. Kain had no intention of destroying Raziel however, for he had already seen this battle occur, and knew the outcome already. The two fought briefly until Kain brought the sword down upon Raziel. Rather than destroy Raziel as the sword had done to each and every other victim it had defeated in the past, the once thought indestructible weapon shattered into pieces.

Kain was not the least bit surprised by this event, and before the lack of energy forced Raziel to slip back into the spectral realm, the reaper of souls swore he saw a faint glimmer of satisfaction in the old vampire's eyes. The events were unfolding exactly as Kain had foreseen, and he retreated to the Chronoplast to await his second confrontation with his first son.

Now once again Raziel was in the world of the dead—the spectral realm. Before him, hovering in silent await was the soul of Kain's weapon the Soul Reaver. Raziel felt compelled to reach out and take hold of the weapon, and in doing so felt himself being bound to it. The blade coiled around his arm and he heard the elder god's voice explain that at that point, he and the ravenous spirit of the Soul Reaver, now liberated from its physical form were from that moment on to be forever bound together in a symbiotic partnership.

Raziel heard a woman's voice speak from behind the pillars. The specter of Ariel, which had remained bound to the cursed pillars ever since Kain's damnation of Nosgoth, approached Raziel and questioned his intentions. Raziel explained his quest for revenge, and that he would seek to feast his dark hunger upon Kain's soul. Ariel decided to aid Raziel, for she knew that as long as Kain's pestilence infected the land, her soul would never know peace. Raziel began to suspect that she somehow knew him, but he could not understand how, nor did he really care at that point. Ariel pointed Raziel in the direction of his brother Zephon's lair, hidden deep within a derelict cathedral.

Raziel wasted no time in tracking down the brood of Zephon, which had evolved over the years into a somewhat insect-like race. Cornering his brother Zephon in the center of the hive that surrounded the cathedral, Raziel set the entire nest ablaze, freeing his brother's soul and satisfying his hunger on it. The nature of Zephon's evolution gave Raziel the power to climb walls he could otherwise not navigate, which allowed the reaper of souls to proceed past the razor sharp hills south of the sanctuary of the clans and into the territory of his brother Rahab.

Along the way to Rahab's territory, Raziel came across a deserted stronghold, which upon entering he discovered was the mighty Sarafan stronghold. There, in the halls of the ancient vampire hunters, Raziel discovered the pilfered graves of the six warrior priests that were the Sarafan's top generals. The names that were inscribed on each of the empty coffins were the same as his own and those of his five brothers. Raziel had discovered Kain's dirty little secret, and was once again overcome with hatred towards his former master for stagnating his once pristine and honored corpse. With his rage refueled, Raziel pressed onward along his path towards his vengeance.

Having retreated from the harmful rays of the sunlight, Rahab and his brood overcame their vulnerability to water, and secluded themselves in a drowned abbey. Raziel traveled to this abbey and fought with great difficulty the hordes of amphibious vampires. Still retaining his vampiric weaknesses, Raziel could not enter the waters while in the physical realm, for it would dissolve his body and force him back into the spectral realm, in which water had neither heft nor lift. Despite this monumental obstacle, Raziel was able to locate and confront Rahab. Exposing the vampire to lethal amounts of sunlight, Raziel consumed the soul of yet another of his brothers and inherited Rahab's immunity to water.

With each new power Raziel inherited, his ability to navigate through Nosgoth's broken landscape became easier and quicker. Swimming beyond the lake of the dead, Raziel entered the frozen wastelands of the north and came across the fortress of his brother Dumah, which stood in silent ruin. The elder god informed Raziel that Dumah's clan had suffered a great defeat at the hands of the few remaining humans of the land. Raziel searched the silent castle until he discovered Dumah's corpse, impaled on three mighty wooden stakes. Prying the stakes from his brother's body, Raziel revived Dumah, who thanked him for restoring him. Raziel then threatened Dumah's life for casting him into the abyss along with Turel. The battle carried on fiercely until Raziel delivered Dumah's soul to the wheel of fate.

Satisfied that he had only one last vampire to destroy, Raziel set out to find Turel. However the elder god stopped him, advising him that he had no time and that Kain was now waiting for him in the Chronoplast to which Raziel now had access. Eager to finally settle his dispute with Kain, Raziel rushed down deep into the caverns of the Moebius' lair.

Pulling the mighty doors to the Chronoplast open, Raziel entered to find Kain once again waiting for him patiently. Kain began to mock Raziel, asking him if he found it at all troubling to murder his brothers. In no mood for his sneering humor, Raziel drew his wraith blade and demanded Kain atone for what he had done to his and his other Sarafan brothers' corpses. Kain could only laugh at Raziel, stating that during the time Raziel had spent in the abyss, Kain had learned far more than he could imagine about the Sarafan and the history of Nosgoth. Claiming that the Sarafan were by no measure righteous, Kain grinned and began operating the devices of the Chronoplast, as he had seen himself do in the images he had witnessed centuries before.

Raziel felt the time for talk was over, and began the battle Kain knew they were destined to have. Both fought mercilessly, and from Raziel's wraith blade Kain suffered a great deal of injuries. However, Kain was able to elude his own destruction and escape into the newly activated portal, coaxing Raziel to follow him as he crossed the threshold. Raziel was quick to dive into the portal as well.


	5. SOUL REAVER: THE BATTLE AGAINST FATE

**SOUL REAVER: THE BATTLE AGAINST FATE**

Through the portal Raziel found himself rocketing through the streams of time. A voice he had never heard before called out to him in the midst of all the carnage, and Raziel willed himself towards it, plunging through yet another threshold and finding himself now within a large room that made up an impressively sized castle. Before him stood a cloaked man holding an unusual look scepter; this was the time streamer, Moebius.

Raziel knew that this little man was dangerous and not to trust him, having studied Kain's previous encounters with the circle members during his servitude as a vampire lieutenant. Attempting to draw his wraith blade, Raziel found that the blade would not summon. The orb on the end of Moebius' staff responded and somehow prohibited Raziel's weapon from drawing. Not allowing the time streamer to get the best of him, Raziel grappled the old man and threatened him with his bare hands. Moebius could only laugh his attacker, claiming that Raziel was not destined to kill him at that moment, and that such an honor was to belong to Kain thirty years from then.

Raziel question Moebius as to how he knew him, having never met before. Moebius corrected the reaper of souls, informing him that he knew Raziel when he was a Sarafan priest, and that the two of them were even close. Since such a companionship was impossible at that point, due to Raziel's apparent distrust, Moebius suggested an alliance with Raziel based on their common enemy Kain.

Following Moebius into the very room where Vorador had slaughter six members of the circle of nine, Raziel realized he was in the Sarafan stronghold. The walls were painted with images that captured the moments of Vorador's attack, and Raziel saw for the first time what Vorador looked like. The time streamer then showed Raziel a vision of Kain, standing in wait at the pillars of Nosgoth, which had yet to fall under their inevitable corruption. Having never beheld the pillars in their original, unspoiled status, Raziel was shocked at such a vision. Moebius instructed Raziel to seek out Kain, and then vanished, leaving the reaper of souls to make his own escape from the stronghold.

Exploring the castle, Raziel was forced to defend himself from Moebius' vampire hunters, who all attacked him on sight. At last he emerged into the inner chapel of the stronghold, and felt the power of the wraith blade return to him. Within the inner chapel, Raziel discovered the tomb of William the Just. As he neared it, Raziel felt a sense of vertigo—a perplexing feeling that reality itself was beginning to warp and twist around him. This was the same sensation that Kain had also experienced in his battle with William the Just, for upon William's tomb rested his broken weapon, the physical Soul Reaver.

Raziel felt the displacement intensify as he neared the blade. The paradox of his soul coming within such close proximity to its twin, encased in the Soul Reaver's steel, made the walls of the stronghold bend and warp.

No longer aware of his own actions, Raziel took hold of the broken blade, and watched on in amazement as the wraith blade uncoiled itself and snaked down the physical blade. Feeling his energy being sapped from him, Raziel gazed at the physical blade as the energy of the wraith blade repaired it. As he neared the edge of oblivion, the Soul Reaver released him, and Raziel realized that the wraith blade and he were no longer simply symbiotically bound, but were instead both competing for complete control over his undying soul.

With the physical Soul Reaver blade still in his hand, and the displacement still resonating around him, Raziel turned to find Moebius standing there, trembling in fear. His staff was absent, and Raziel immediately questioned the time streamer about what was happening.

Moebius was indeed afraid, for he knew that Raziel was unknowingly in a position to alter history. The blade he held contained his own soul, and the paradox was bending the streams of fate. Though it was the time streamer's destiny to die by Kain's hands thirty years from that moment, Moebius knew that Raziel could indeed kill him right then and there, for all the necessary ingredients for such an alteration in history were abundantly apparent.

Begging Raziel to stay his hand, Moebius informed the reaper of souls that he knew of the wheel of fate and the elder god that had resurrected Raziel when he had fallen into the abyss. The time streamer told him that he too served this elder god and that to strike at him would be striking at the god's own servant, to which he assured Raziel that the elder god would not be pleased with.

Disgusted with Moebius' banter, Raziel tossed aside the Reaver blade and left the chapel in search of Kain. Relieved, Moebius whisper under his breath that Raziel had missed the one and only chance he would ever have to possibly destroy him, and then returned the repaired Soul Reaver to William's tomb.

Still searching the stronghold for an escape, Raziel once again came across the room that contained the crypts of his five brothers and himself. Standing in the center of the room was a statue that depicted the human Raziel with purity and righteousness. As he beheld the statue, Raziel felt a sense of loss and betrayal. His appetite for Kain's soul became amplified, and he continued onward through the stronghold.

At last emerging from the halls of the stronghold, Raziel was greeted with his very first vision of Nosgoth in its uncorrupted state. He stood marveling at its beauty and abundance of vitality. Sensing the pillars to the northwest, Raziel leapt from the balcony and into the lake below

The path to the pillars was littered with Moebius' vampire hunting mob, and Raziel fought his way past them until at last he came upon the pillars. Whole and pristine, the sight of the pillars moved Raziel, but only briefly for his eyes caught an all too familiar sight of Kain waiting for him before the pillar of balance. Arming himself with the wraith blade, Raziel stepped onto the platform and challenged the vampire once again.

Kain requested that Raziel stay his hand long enough to hear what he had to say. The vampire explained that the two of them had arrived at the sublime moment at which both Ariel's assassination at the hands of the possessed Mortanius and Kain's birth and assignment as the new guardian of balance would take place. Raziel watched in amazement as a wave of darkness washed over the pillars, tainting their color and corrupting their energy. Kain continued, stating that Nuprapter's grief was at that moment spoiling each and every member of the circle of nine, including his newborn human counterpart.

Raziel raised once again the point that if Nosgoth was to be healed, the corrupted circle, including Kain, had to be destroyed, and that he would carry out the deed that Kain was unable to do at the fatal moment of Nosgoth's damnation. Kain was quick to command Raziel to drop the benevolent act, claiming that they both knew that Raziel's intentions were not to restore balance to Nosgoth but were rather nothing short of blind revenge, and that there was nothing at all wrong with that. Kain then revealed that in fact, he had counted on it to drive Raziel to follow him to this era, as he had witnessed in the Chronoplast.

Continuing his story, Kain explained that thirty years from that moment, his younger self would be presented with his monumental choice, which he began to relate to a two-sided coin. If it were to fall one way, Kain would restore balance to the land and end the existence of the entire vampire race. If it were to fall the other way, Kain would refuse the sacrifice and damn the land. Kain concluded that the deal was rigged no matter what the fledgling vampire's choice was and that in order to truly restore Nosgoth the pillars had to be restored by their rightful owners.

Hastily, Raziel once again claimed that Kain had to be destroyed in order to return the possession of the pillars a pure circle of nine guardians. Kain corrected the reaper of souls, stating that the pillars did not belong to the humans but were instead the rightful property of the vampires. He hesitated to inform Raziel right then and there of the true purpose of the pillars, figuring that there was no possible way Raziel would believe him unless the reaper of souls discovered the truth himself. Claiming that there was a third side to the coin—a monumental secret inherent in Raziel's very presence—the vampire implored Raziel to explore the land and discover the truth of their destinies before vanishing.

Intrigued by Kain's words, Raziel justified letting his prey escape by stating that he had been manipulated far too easily in the past and did not desire to be so any further. He decided to investigate the supposed secrets that Kain claimed were lying in wait for him, and continued his journey past the pillars.

Raziel felt a sense of being watched as he traveled. He noticed crows perched along the path he traveled, which would each vanish in a green cloud of magic if he dared near any of them. Somewhat disturbed, the reaper of souls pressed on until he arrived in a deep cavern that lay directly below the pillars. Claiming that no human hand could have created such a chamber, Raziel gazed upon murals painted on the walls, which depicted images of the great war between the ancient vampires and the Hylden. The image of the vampire's holy warrior bearing the Reaver blade were everywhere on the walls of the chamber. Raziel couldn't make sense out of the images though, and before he had time to even attempt to, a familiar voice echoed throughout the caverns.

Gazing into the deep waters, Raziel beheld a physical manifestation of the elder god at the bottom of the chamber. Suspicious, Raziel questioned the reason why he now found himself in his ancient benefactor's presence. The elder god reminded him that it was omnipresent, and continued to remind him that he still had a task to fulfill, and that task was to kill Kain.

Poking fun at the elder god, Raziel began to spout claims that he did not need the council of this supposed god. Angered by Raziel's rebellious and willful nature, the elder god warned Raziel not to become too self-assured, and commissioned to him to resume his journey to rid Nosgoth of Kain's parasitic influence. Claiming that when and if he killed Kain it would be his for his own reasons and his own decision, Raziel exited the chamber.

Emerging from the caverns, Raziel found himself in a dark forest. Not too far into the woods, he caught sight of the creature that had been using the mysteriously disappearing crows to spy on him. It was the vampire Vorador, who Raziel recognized from the images he had seen in the Sarafan stronghold that had depicted the ancient vampire as a demonic scourge of the circle of nine. Vanishing from sight, Raziel pursued the vampire throughout the forest.

Nearly abandoning his search, Raziel was finally confronted by the ancient vampire. Confirming that he had indeed been watching Raziel since his emergence from the stronghold of his enemy, Vorador questioned Raziel's intentions, reminding the reaper of souls that his arrival was not but an hour before the corruption of the pillars. Vorador asked him whether he was the cause or the solution to the corruption that now poisoned the land. Raziel had no idea what he meant, and claimed to be neither.

Distrustful of Raziel, since he had come from the Sarafan stronghold, Vorador gazed upon the weapon Raziel bore and concluded that the being that now stood in front of him was in fact the vampire's prophesied hero, which his master Janos Audron had told him about centuries ago. However, rather than become filled with hope at the sight of his supposed messiah, Vorador gazed at the corruption that now infected the land and concluded that Nosgoth was beyond redemption. Figuring that it was pointless to explain his theory, Vorador instead told Raziel that the only being that could be totally sure of his true purpose was the legendary ancient vampire Janos Audron. Raziel asked where he could meet Janos, but Vorador informed him that his master had been dead for five hundred years, slaughtered by the Sarafan during what were the last years of the vampire purge. Since that time, Vorador claimed he wanted nothing to do with the world or the affairs of mankind. Abandoning all hope, Vorador left Raziel to his thoughts in the deep dark forest.

Aware that Moebius' Chronoplast device could deliver him to a time where he could speak with Janos, Raziel resolved to return to the Sarafan stronghold and ask—or force if it was necessary—Moebius to aid him.

Returning along the path he had traveled already, Raziel once again came across the elder god, who was displeased by all the time his servant was wasting. The elder god once again commanded Raziel to seek out Kain and destroy him. At that point, Raziel had become tiresome of the elder god's constant nagging, and began to question whether or not his benefactor was in fact one of the deceiving parties that everyone had warned him to be cautious of during his journey. Angered by Raziel's continuously growing rebellion and mockery, the elder god warned Raziel not to underestimate it.

Ignoring the seemingly harmless boasting of the elder god, Raziel continued his journey back to the Sarafan stronghold.  
The elder god knew, however, what fate would soon befall his servant when the Reaver blade claimed his soul. Content that Raziel's destiny would be suitable punishment for defying it, the elder god left Raziel to play out his rebellion.

Before exiting the caverns, Raziel came across more murals painted on the walls. More of the facts about the ancient vampires become clear to Raziel as he realizes that it was this ancient race of winged beings that erected the pillars and used them to banish their enemies to another dimension. He learned also of the Hylden curse that infected the ancient vampires with their blood thirst. Struggling to piece together the significance of all these images, Raziel pressed forward.

Returning to the stronghold, Raziel was able to find entry where he had previously overlooked. Once again battling his way through Moebius' frenzied mob, Raziel emerged into the tomb of William the Just yet again. There, he encountered Kain, who had been waiting for him there since the two of them parted ways at the pillars.

Kain stood in a somewhat anxious anticipation. The two of them had arrived at the moment Kain had witnessed in the Chronoplast in which Raziel ended the vampire's immortal life. As Raziel approached him, both creatures felt the temporal distortion once again begin to emanate from the proximity of the two Soul Reaver souls—the one contained in the blade on William's tomb and Raziel who now stood before it. Kain was pleased to be reintroduced to the familiar feeling, for he knew that there was now the possibility of avoiding his foretold demise.

At that moment, Raziel told Kain that he had been manipulated for the last time, and was setting his own path from that moment out. Kain contradicted the reaper of souls, informing him that his new resolve would be harder to carry out than he realized. Raziel scolded Kain in response, claiming that his fatalism was tiresome. Kain then felt it was time to disclose to Raziel all the information he had spent the years locked in Moebius' Chronoplast chamber discovering.

Kain explained how history could not be changed, with one single exception. Using the story of his journey back in time and the battle he had with William the Just, Kain enlightened Raziel as to how by bringing two incarnations of the Soul Reaver together in the same time and space, history could be derailed and rewritten. As he ended his lecture, Kain presented Raziel with the Soul Reaver blade that his wraith blade had only just repaired. Raziel took the blade in his hand and felt a deep, almost unconscious compulsion to want to attack Kain with it. The Soul Reaver was thrusting out of his hand towards Kain against Raziel's will, and he could barley hold it back. Puzzled, Raziel demanded an explanation. Kain clarified that what Raziel felt was the grip that fate had on him, pushing him towards the destiny the vampire had already witnessed.

In an effort not only to save his own life but also to make Raziel understand that this was his only chance to avoid being a pawn of fate, Kain begged Raziel not to strike him down. Raziel began to understand what Kain was trying to teach him and summoned every ounce of will he could in order to bring the Soul Reaver down into William's sarcophagus, missing Kain's chest by mere inches.

The world around the two of them shuttered as history attempted to realign itself in order to accommodate the change Raziel had introduced. Kain's destiny was now a blank slate, since he had survived what was supposed to be his destined death. Collecting himself, Kain commented that there was now hope that the pillars could be restored to the rightful rule of the vampires.

Still bewildered by the events, Raziel declared that he would not take any further part in what he thought was some twisted plot Kain and Moebius had created in order to manipulate him. Kain felt optimistic by Raziel's resolve, and encouraged the reaper of souls to continue his journey and unearth more of the secrets of his destiny that lied in store for him.

Continuing through the stronghold, Raziel returned to the time streaming chamber that had bore him into the time period he was now in. There he encountered Moebius, who stood cowering as the reaper of souls approached him. Amused, Raziel began to mock the time streamer.

Claiming that Kain's devious intentions had poisoned Raziel's mind, Moebius reminded the reaper of souls, as the elder god had also done, that he still had a job to do, and that he was destined to be the savior of Nosgoth. Irritated by the repetition of orders he had been receiving, Raziel drew his wraith blade and commanded that the old man operate the time streaming device to provide him passage into the time of Janos Audron, having decided that the current era that he was now in was of no further use to him.

Under the mask of being terrified into submission, Moebius was already crafting a plan for his supposed assassin. Rather than obey Raziel's commands, Moebius tuned the machine to teleport him one hundred and thirty years into the future, a century after Kain's monumental decision to save his own life by damning Nosgoth.

Confident that he had the upper hand, Raziel ignorantly hurled himself into the portal that Moebius had opened for him. Little did both Raziel and Moebius know, Kain had followed the reaper of souls. As Moebius collected the Soul Reaver from William's tomb in order to take it to Avernous cathedral, where the young newly resurrected fledgling Kain would find it thirty years later, the vampire snuck into the time streaming chamber and teleported himself to the same time period that Moebius had sent Raziel to. Kain was anxiously waiting for the opportunity to repay Raziel the favor he had bestowed the vampire by sparing his life, and though he was certain that such an opportunity would eventually occur when Raziel traveled back into Nosgoth's past and assaulted the Sarafan, he felt it best to keep an eye on his lieutenant for the time being.

Raziel found himself once again whirling forward on the streams of time before settling himself in the new time streaming chamber. As he exited, Raziel beheld the Sarafan stronghold in a state of abandonment and ruin. Navigating his way to the exits, Raziel was confronted by demons the likes of which he had never seen. These monsters attacked him relentlessly, and even pursued him into the spectral realm in which he tried to hide from them. Raziel knew that Moebius had somehow tricked him into being stranded within an undesired time period.

Inside the stronghold, Raziel encountered what appeared to be the spirit of Moebius, who had laid dead for a century after losing his head to Kain. Accusing the time streamer of treachery, Raziel was told that the deception was necessary to make him see the grand error in his decision to spare Kain's life in the stronghold. Seeing past Moebius' lies, Raziel refuted that killing Kain's future self with the Soul Reaver would have changed nothing, since it was the fledgling Kain who made the decision to damn Nosgoth. Losing the argument, Moebius made up a lie that Kain's very existence was the reason for the pestilence that now tainted the land. However, Raziel no longer believed a word the time streamer had to say. He left Moebius where he was, assured that the old man would not help him in any way from that moment on.

Fighting his way through the demons that infested the keep, Raziel emerged to find the world scarred and torn—the sky black and raining a storm of pollution. The reaper of souls was now trapped in this nightmarish world, and he decided to seek out some way to escape the prison that Moebius had sent him to.

He traveled to the pillars, which greeted him with a disturbing sense of familiarity. The pillars in this time were as he had always known them to be: crumbled and corrupted. As he approached, Raziel once again discerned the specter of Ariel, who had been bound at that point to the pillars for a century.

Spitting spiteful remarks about the failed balance guardian, who by choosing to preserve his own life had damned her to haunt the pillars forever, Ariel was startled by Raziel's appearance. Once again, he could tell that she knew him from some time in her past. The reaper of souls reminded her that it was not entirely Kain's fault that she now came to haunt the broken pillars, and that there was a darker force manipulating the entire circle that was primarily to blame.

Attempting to shut out Raziel, the trapped soul escaped into the spectral realm. Following quickly, Raziel cornered her against the pillar of balance. The spirit begged for mercy, to which Raziel could only laugh. He suggested sarcastically that perhaps he should show her the same mercy she showed Kain by keeping him ignorant of his true nature and of the choice he would have to make, or maybe the same kind of mercy she showed her fellow circle members when she set Kain loose upon them.

Tormented by his words, Ariel slumped into despair, cursing him for hounding her so cruelly. Raziel replied that he was merely looking for answers before leaving her to her self-pity.

Returning once again to the chamber beneath the pillars, Raziel was shocked to find that the elder god had grown in size, laying its giant squid like tentacles throughout the chamber that contained the broken subterranean parts of the pillars.

Like Moebius had done, the elder god scolded Raziel for lacking the courage to destroy Kain. It claimed that by failing to do so, Raziel was now responsible for the world's decay. Once again the reaper of souls was not at all affected by the lectures he received. Instead, he observed that while Nosgoth had descended into madness and decay, the elder god had somehow managed to thrive.

Warning Raziel that its will was absolute, the elder god threatened that any rebellion Raziel displayed would result in dire consequences. The reaper of souls became fed up with the preaching of the monstrous creature that inhabited the waters below the chamber, and continued on past it towards the black forest.

The passage of time had altered the landscape somewhat, and Raziel now found that he had access to the northern mountains beyond the forest. Through the mountain caverns, he discovered the ruined little hamlet of Uschtenheim, where legends claimed Janos Audron laired near. Keen on discovering any evidence of the ancient vampire's existence, Raziel searched beyond the village.

At last Raziel came upon what he was searching for. In a clearing in the mountains just past Uschtenheim, the reaper of souls discovered a mighty terrace that was clearly constructed by a race of beings gifted with flight. The balcony rested on a grand statue of a member of the winged ancients. However, the terrace was in ruin, buried under a mountain of rubble. Raziel realized that he was far beyond the time of Janos Audron, and that he desperately needed to find a way to travel back in time to Nosgoth's past.

Kain had been following Raziel up until that point, and decided to reveal himself to the reaper of souls, who was less than anxious and at the same time astonished to see him. Assuring Raziel that he was simply biding his time and meant him no harm or deception, Kain reflected on the little trick Moebius had played on his comrade. Raziel concluded that Moebius clearly didn't want him to meet Janos Audron, to which Kain suggested that perhaps the real reason Moebius had tricked him was that by witnessing first hand the destruction Kain's decision had made, it would harden Raziel's heart against him. The reaper of soul dismissed the notion, claiming that he knew that killing Kain would do nothing to cure the fate of the world.

Pleased by Raziel's revelations, Kain confirmed that he would indeed need to find Janos in order to answer the many questions he had, and that there would be forces marshaled against the both of them every step of the way. Curious as to why Kain suddenly felt the two of them were now allies, Raziel revealed that he realized the mysterious forces that now strived against their efforts were not at all pleased by the meddling the two of them had taken part in which had resulted in the un-writing of the fatal history that was in store for them both.

Kain once again explained that the two of them were not un-writing history, they were re-writing it. He continued to clarify that the massive shifting Raziel had felt when he had refused to give in to fate's plan was the strain of history attempting to realign itself to accommodate the change Raziel had brought about. The reaper of souls then asked Kain what would happen if history was unable to realign itself—if it was somehow altered too greatly—to which Kain could only reply that it would be the creators of the paradox that would be removed from the equation, adding that this may in fact be the outcome their enemies had in mind for the two of them. On that disturbing thought, Kain disappeared, leaving Raziel alone to continue his search for an escape from the dark period.

Hurrying ahead deeper into the mountains, Kain rushed to the location of another time streaming chamber, which he had discovered at some point during his rise to power, but at that time could not make sense out of. Knowing that Raziel would eventually come across it, Kain tuned it to transport whoever activated the device to the year that Raziel sought to journey to. Throwing the switch, Kain propelled himself six hundred years into the past—to the day Janos Audron was executed.

Raziel was quick to follow along the path Kain had taken, and also came across the time streaming chamber. With nothing but the wasteland behind him and no knowledge of how to operate the device, Raziel surrendered his will to the hand of fate and threw the switch.

Despite all hope and against all probability, Raziel discovered that he had successfully made it to the time period he sought. Emerging from the chamber, he discovered banners bearing the mark of the Sarafan and the bodies of countless vampires impaled on massive wooden poles. Taking only a minute to observe how ruthless and cruel the methods of his former brotherhood were, Raziel began the journey back to the terrace he discovered earlier. More and more examples of the Sarafan's savage persecution of the vampire race were apparent along the path Raziel traveled, and his former regard for the holy warriors dissolved away from admiration into repulsion.

While Raziel was making his way back through the mountains, the Sarafan stronghold was a buzz with activity. The time streamer Moebius, having foreseen the reaper of souls' appearance in this time, knew it was time to dispatch the six Sarafan generals. He summoned the Sarafan Raziel, Turel, Dumah, Rahab, Zephon, and Melchiah into his chamber, and commissioned them to explore the mountains north of Uschtenheim. Accepting the vampire-disabling scepter from the time streamer, the Sarafan general Raziel commanded his five fellow warriors to make ready for their journey.

Back in the mountains, the reaper of souls had encountered several Sarafan patrols. Assaulting him without question, the Sarafan were unable to best him in battle and Raziel fed his hunger on their vicious souls. Before too long, Raziel found the statue of the winged warrior and the balcony that rested on top of it. He was relieved to found that in the time period he was now in, the rubble that had buried the terrace was not present, and the balcony now stood unflawed.

Using his powers to shift between the spectral and material realms, Raziel cleared a way into the mountains beneath the terrace. Inside he found that the mountain was hollowed out and instead of the thousands of tones of rock, there stood a pristine looking shrine. Once again Raziel could tell that the architecture was that of creatures gifted with wings. The reaper of souls would not give up though, and by unlocking the many riddles and locked passageways of the shrine, finally created a path from which those who could not fly could travel in order to reach the inner sanctum of the shrine.

The Sarafan generals were not far behind Raziel. Having discovered the entrance to the shrine that he had created, the Sarafan followed the path Raziel had laid out in front of them, unaware of how it was created but not caring as they were blinded by the anticipation of discovering Janos' lair.

Pulling the mighty doors to the inner sanctum open, Raziel beheld a winged figure with blue skin standing patiently inside. Identifying himself as Janos Audron, the creature welcomed Raziel to his lair. Raziel realized that Janos was not at all the demonic beast that he had seen depicted in the stained glass murals that littered the halls of the Sarafan stronghold. This creature was far more noble and pure, it seemed.

Janos explained to Raziel that he had been waiting for him since he could remember. He told the reaper of souls about the binding and about the original nine guardians of the pillars of Nosgoth. At that time, he had the Reaver blade created and had sworn to protect it until the prophecies of his race came to be. The ancient vampire then explained how the vampires slowly died out and that he became the last remaining member of his race, continuing on to tell how the humans had forgotten about the vampires and claimed the pillars for themselves, regarding him from then on as just a devil—the origin of the supposed vampire plague.

Raziel was puzzled as to why the pillars had turned to the humans for their guardianship if they were supposed to serve the vampire race. Janos informed Raziel that the pillars chose their guardians from birth and that vampires were no longer born, adding that the irony of the situation was that as the humans continued their vampire purge they were destroying the true guardians of the pillars and thus condemning Nosgoth to a nightmare they didn't even know existed.

Raziel finally asked Janos whether or not he was the vampire's prophesized hero, to which the ancient vampire confirmed his belief that he was, and presented the Reaver blade to the reaper of souls, which he had spent his entire immortal life guarding. The ancient vampire informed Raziel how the weapon smith that had created the blade had infused it with the essence of vampirism, giving the blade a blood draining power not unlike the vampires had.

Having experienced the temporal distortion each and every time he had come close to the physical Soul Reaver in the past, Raziel stood in complete confusion as no such distortion was present during this encounter. Instead, Raziel sensed something else—a feeling of dread that strengthened as he neared the blade. Raziel refused to touch the Reaver blade.

Suddenly, the Sarafan soldiers crashed into the room. Attempting to protect the ancient vampire, Raziel was transported away from the attack by Janos' magic. Finding himself back at the entrance of the shrine, Raziel was overcome with fury. The Sarafan warriors had Moebius' scepter with them, which meant that Raziel had been used by the time streamer in order to lead the Sarafan to Janos. Knowing that Janos did not stand a chance as long as the Sarafan had that scepter in their possession, the reaper of souls rushed to try and save Janos.

Arriving in time to see his human self cleave open Janos' chest and rip his black heart from within, Raziel knew he was too late. The chambers around them began tremble, and the six generals retreated with both Janos' heart and the Reaver blade. Raziel felt the sting of failure pierce his soul as Janos' last words called out to him. The ancient vampire beckoned him to retrieve the Reaver blade, and that without it there was no hope for Nosgoth. With that, the vampire fell silent.

Raziel immediately renounced everything he had ever been and embraced the role Janos had said he was destined to become. Drawing his wraith blade, the reaper of souls vowed to hunt his former brethren and reclaim the relics they had stolen. He would claim the Reaver blade, which he felt was rightfully his, and also take back the heart of darkness, which he would use to revive Janos.

The halls of Janos' retreat shook violently and began to collapse. Leaping from the terrace, Raziel landed in the mountain path bellow just as the avalanche destroyed Janos' shrine.

In the distance, the vampire Vorador of that time period sensed that his master was in trouble. Using his magic to teleport himself to Janos' now ruined lair, the vampire discovered in horror the body of his maker lying dead in the rubble. As Raziel had done not moments before, Vorador vowed vengeance against the Sarafan, and planned to assault the stronghold of his ancient enemy as soon as he could relocate the body of Janos to his mansion.

Raziel hurried through the land of Nosgoth towards the Sarafan stronghold. Slaughtering his way through every Sarafan warrior he met along the way, he finally returned to the stronghold. Inside he searched for Moebius, the six generals, the heart of darkness and the Reaver blade.

He first came across the Reaver blade, which had been left purposefully across his path by Moebius. Again Raziel felt nothing of the temporal distortions, only the familiar dread that had overcome him in Janos' chamber.

At that point, Moebius and the paladin Malek entered the room with him. Using his scepter, Moebius once again disabled Raziel's wraith blade. The time streamer began taunting Raziel, attempting to provoke him to take up the Reaver blade.

Cries suddenly filled the halls of the stronghold. The vampire Vorador was at that point attacking the other members of the circle of nine. Screams for Malek's aid echoed through the halls, however Moebius would not let the paladin leave him defenseless against Raziel.

Still enduring the jeers of the little old man, Raziel let his rage cloud over his judgment. He seized the Reaver blade and turned on the two guardians. His objective completed, Moebius smiled and fled with Malek through the doorway, which sealed shut. The two had escaped Raziel, and Malek rushed through the halls to try and save his fellow guardian members from Vorador.

With the Reaver in his hand now, Raziel felt the wraith blade trying to overcome the powers of Moebius' scepter and join with the physical blade. It was too weak however, and Raziel felt intoxicated by the power he now felt the Reaver blade was somehow channeling through him. Rushing through the stronghold, the reaper of souls encountered Melchiah and Zephon, who had been instructed by Moebius to destroy him. Still enraged by the death of Janos, Raziel was eager to see what the Reaver blade would do to the two of them.

Battling the two Sarafan generals, Raziel discovered that the Reaver blade had made him invincible, healing each wound he sustained instantly and prolonging his manifestation in the physical realm indefinitely. With this new power, Raziel killed both of the Sarafan warriors, feeding their life's blood to the Reaver.

Continuing forward, Raziel came upon Dumah and Rahab next. The reaper of souls smiled as he began to appreciate the irony of Kain's private little joke; for it would be he who killed these human warriors and provide Kain with the corpses he needed to revive his six lieutenants in his rise to power. As Melchiah and Zephon had before, Dumah and Rahab fell to the power of the Reaver blade.

Crossing into what would later become the tomb of William the Just, Raziel found Turel waiting for him. He reflected on how it was Turel and Dumah that had thrown him into the abyss. Remembering that the vampire Turel had eluded his wrath, he assured himself that the human Turel would not, and struck down the Sarafan warrior.

With only his human self standing before him and Moebius, Raziel entered the room in which the six warriors he was now defeating would later be memorialized in to find the Sarafan Raziel waiting with his sword drawn. Assuming that the reaper of souls was responsible for the demise of the six circle members and his five comrades, the Sarafan warrior promised to end the fight quickly.

Clutching the Reaver tightly, Raziel remarked that the falsely righteous barbarian and his brothers had offered no such courtesy to Janos. Laughing, the human smirked and claimed that destroying the creature that had eluded him and his order for so long too quickly would have been a tragedy. Raziel's rage consumed him and he lunged forward. The two battled relentlessly, their swordsmanship equally potent. However, the power that the Reaver contained was too much for the human to contest with, and at long last, Raziel plunged the Reaver into his enemy's heart, ending the life of his former self.

His anger subsiding, Raziel sat in thought about his history, and how it seemed to have come full circle. He could feel the power of the wraith blade returning, and watched as his symbiotic weapon once again uncoiled itself and wound lovingly around its physical twin. As the two blades joined together, energy began to grow at an incredible rate within the blade. Raziel tried to toss the blade away, but he could not longer control it. The Reaver suddenly turned and impaled the reaper of souls. Raziel screamed in agony as he felt his existence being sucked into the Reaver.

Raziel realized at that moment why he had felt no temporal distortion when Janos had presented the Reaver blade. The Soul Reaver had never meant to be a soul devouring weapon—the ravenous, soul-stealing entity trapped within the blade was, and had always been, his own soul. That was why the Soul Reaver had shattered when Kain had tried to strike him with it; the Soul Reaver could not devour its own soul. That was also the reason the streams of time had distorted every time Raziel had gotten near the Soul Reaver blade.

Feeling his strength being sapped from him, Raziel fell to his knees. From the shadows, Kain, who had been watching the events the entire time, stepped forward. Once again the Chronoplast had been accurate in accounting the events that would lead to the demise of Raziel, and Kain was now ready to step forward and put the final part of his plan into effect.

Screaming suspicions of Kain's intent to drive him to such a fate, Raziel could barley hear Kain as he beckoned the reaper of souls not to fight the influence of the blade. Raziel felt his soul draining into the blade. It was at that point that his soul existed both outside and inside Soul Reaver. This triggered the temporal distortion Kain had been waiting for, and he lunged forward. Seizing the handle of the Soul Reaver, Kain pulled the sword out of Raziel and threw it across the room.

Just has Kain's had been before, Raziel's destined demise was now avoided. The familiar tremble of the time stream straining to realign itself filled the halls of the stronghold, just as it had done when Raziel spared Kain's life.

Kain stood triumphant. He had beaten fate and saved his own life and the life of Raziel. However, his victorious feeling of pride was short-lived. The vampire felt his memory begin to alter. As history strained to realign itself, new memories were being born inside his mind.

Kain realized at that point that he, in fact, was the destined vampire hero, not Raziel. He was the legendary scion of balance—the first vampire balance guardian to assume the title since the death of the original vampire circle of nine—which all the prophecies Janos had studied had foretold of. Kain also began to realize that Raziel was somehow different, due to his unique resurrection, from every other living being that existed. As he was beyond death and not truly living, Raziel was the only creature in existence that possessed free will, and now that his plotted extermination was foiled, Raziel could truly embrace such a freedom. He was not shackled to the wheel of fate, nor was he a mindless hunter minion of the elder god. Kain understood that somehow, this distinctive characteristic that the reaper of souls had would be significant in his own role as scion of balance, however the reasons how and why were not made clear by this rush of knowledge that Kain was experiencing.

Visions of events from every period in time began to stream forward into Kain's head. The vampire witnessed how the Hylden would enter Nosgoth through the rift in the barrier caused by his initial refusal at the pillars. He witnessed in his mind how the Hylden Lord would firstly possess the revived body of Janos Audron and use the ancient vampire's powers to construct his portal to the Hylden prison dimension. The Hylden would then use Janos' blood to reawaken the Mass and power the device deep under Nosgoth's surface before finally becoming the Sarafan Lord.

Kain realized that his plan for himself and Raziel, which he had spent centuries formulating down to the last detail, had been taken into account by the Hylden, and that the two of them had stumbled into a trap set eons ago by the sinister race. The vampire attempted to warn Raziel at that moment not to revive Janos Audron, for if he did the Hylden Lord would have the power to create the portal, but before his words could reach the nearly dead reaper of souls, Raziel vanished before his very eyes.

His strength was depleted, and without the Reaver blade to sustain his physical body, Raziel had slipped back into the spectral realm. As the energy of the spirit world began to regenerate him, he recoiled in horror. Waiting for him there in the world of the dead, as always, was the wraith blade. Even with his destiny to enter the sword foiled by Kain, somehow his soul would enter the Soul Reaver at some point in his future, be released by Kain's shattering of the blade, and become bound to a younger reaper of souls. Raziel fell into despair. It seemed that Kain's plan had not allowed him to escape his terrible destiny—it had simply postponed it.

Feeling his ethereal body being tossed on the spectral winds, Raziel was teleported deep under the surface of Nosgoth. He opened his eyes to discover he was in yet another lair of the elder god, who had sealed him within. Gazing at his disobedient servant, the elder god vowed to hold Raziel prisoner until he submitted to the will of his master. Having failed to fulfill the task that the elder god wished for him to do, the reaper of souls' ancient benefactor felt that his now rebellious servant's only use would be to serve him as a mindless hunter of the underworld. Arrogant and willful, Raziel declared he would never surrender to the supposed god, locking the two in a purgatorial stalemate.

On Nosgoth's surface, Kain was left alone in the time of the Sarafan. The vampire had retreated from the stronghold, collecting the Reaver blade as he made his escape. Since Raziel's soul had not entered the sword, it retained every last characteristic Janos had created it with. The sword had been destined to be wielded by the vampire's prophesied hero, and Kain now knew that he was that very hero. Thus, he claimed the ancient weapon once again as his own.

The vampire struggled with all the new memories. He tried to understand how Janos could have been revived, and concluded that the most logical explanation was that Raziel would somehow restore the heart of darkness to Janos in an effort to seek the ancient vampire's council further. Kain knew that if Janos was restored, the Hylden Lord would have the means to reawaken the Mass. He finally resolved to find Raziel and stop him from resurrecting Janos.


	6. DEFIANCE

**DEFIANCE**

Returning the stronghold of the Sarafan, Kain began his hunt for Moebius. He knew that the time streamer would have information as to Raziel's location, and fought his way through the fortress searching for the deceptive old man.

Deep within the dungeons of the Sarafan stronghold, Moebius consulted with the elder god, who assured him that it had Raziel contained. The elder god then explained its new plan for destroying Kain to the time streamer. It explicated how the ancient civilization of the vampires had left behind dozens of murals throughout the different structures they had built. Informing the time streamer of the hidden location of the ancient vampire citadel, the elder god explained that by leading Kain on a path of deceit, the two of them could trick the vampire into believing that Raziel was the prophesized hero of the Hylden race. Once he was under this deception, the elder god could then release Raziel from his prison and propel him down the similar deceptive path, driving the two towards the battle it knew Raziel would win. As a result, Kain would be dead and Raziel could once again be detained by the elder god, forcing him to assume the role of one of the elder god's many spectral minions.

As the time streamer chuckled and assured his master that he would dutifully carry out his orders, Kain appeared behind him. Threatening the time streamers life, Kain demanded to known where Raziel was. Moebius was quick to activate his scepter's power, which took hold of his black heart and restrained him. Taunting the vampire, the time streamer escaped into a different part of the stronghold. Kain would not give up however, and continued to hunt for the old man throughout the fortress.

Moebius retreated to the highest tower of the stronghold and waited for the vampire. Finally bursting into his chamber, Kain immediately disarmed Moebius of his scepter and cornered the time streamer. Again he demanded to know where Raziel was. Moebius informed Kain that he had misread whatever information he had picked up about Raziel's true nature, and that he would find enlightenment on the truth of his creature's purpose in the ancient vampire citadel, which sat in a hidden lake west of the pillars. Again, the time streamer vanished. Kain resolved to journey to the citadel and seek out the enlightenment Moebius felt he lacked.

Deep in the underworld, Raziel and the elder god continued their struggle. Feeling eternity pass onward around him, Raziel finally realized that even though the sword that would eventually imprison him still existed, remaining in the safety of his captivity would solve nothing, and that it was better to face his destiny than cower from it.

Under the impression that he had submitted to its will, the elder god finally released Raziel from his prison, but warned his servant that he would be granted no further conduit into the material realm, restricting him to the world of the dead. Raziel seized this opportunity to emerge into the world above the surface. The reaper of souls began searching for an alternate way to somehow enter the material realm.

Finding himself in a massive graveyard, Raziel discovered that he could project himself into the corpses that surrounded him. With an act of will, Raziel broke his restrictive bonds and manifested himself in the physical world once again. The elder god was surprised that Raziel was able to escape him so quickly, but secretly knew that such events would only serve to aid it in its plan to bring Kain and Raziel together in battle. With this assurance, the elder god receded into the darkness of its lair and waited.

The first beings Raziel encountered once he was back in the physical realm were a group of humans. Listening to their gossip, he learned that they had supposedly heard a woman's voice talking and moaning near the pillars, but that they hadn't seen anyone near that area. Before he could learn more he was discovered. Raziel was shocked to realize that each of the rogues bore the insignia of Moebius' vampire hunting mob. Somehow, the elder god's imprisonment had propelled him five hundred years beyond the year of the Sarafan. The reaper of souls was now in the time of the corrupted pillars. Somewhere in Nosgoth at that very same moment, the fledgling vampire Kain was rampaging through the land systematically slaughtering each member of the corrupted circle.

The reaper of souls gladly dispatched Moebius' henchmen. He knew at that point what invisible woman it was that the hunters had discovered. Ariel the murdered balance guardian had been at that point bound to the pillars for nearly thirty years. Figuring that she would have some of the answers to his now uncertain destiny, Raziel decided to seek out the specter, hoping she would have the answers he sought.

While Raziel searched for a path to the pillars, the race of the Hylden knew that there time of reckoning was drawing near. The silencing of Ariel that they had organized and the repercussions of the young Kain's actions would bring about the destruction of the pillars and allow the Hylden Lord to escape the prison dimension and return to Nosgoth. However, history had been changed. Both Kain's future self and Raziel had escaped their fate, and the Hylden could not leave them to ruin their carefully calculated plans. Following the example of the reaper of souls, lesser soldiers of the Hylden race began to posses the corpses of the newly dead of Nosgoth just as Raziel did. Encountering these now Hylden possessed corpses, Raziel questioned their origins and purpose. The Hylden warriors only attacked him, forcing the reaper of souls to defend himself. Devouring their souls, Raziel chose to be mindful of such attacks in the future.

As he searched the massive graveyard for an exit, Raziel happened upon a shrine that seemed sealed for generations. Gazing upon the stone, he discerned images of the Reaver blade, and that the door seemed to be seal by a lock that only the bearer of the Reaver could open. Compelled by curiosity, the reaper of souls plunged his wraith blade into the seal, shattering the lock and opening the entrance.

Inside Raziel discovered a dimensional gate. Stepping into the gate, Raziel was transported to the ruins of the ancient vampire citadel. Unaware of where he was, the reaper of souls explored further into the sanctuary for clues as to why only the bearer of the Reaver was allowed entry.

He soon discovered murals drawn on the wall. Nearly faded completely from recognition due to the centuries of abandonment, Raziel could barely make out what the drawings depicted. The murals illustrated the epic war between the Hylden and ancient vampires, as well as the prophesized vampire hero, who was armed with the Reaver blade. Raziel continued to wonder if he was this hero, since Janos had told him seconds before his death that the Reaver blade was made specifically for him.

More murals followed. Raziel discovered once again the fate that would befall the ancient vampires at the hands of the Hylden curse: their bloodlust, sterility and everlasting life. Raziel knew then that he was in some kind of primordial ruin of the vampire race.

In the final chamber of the Sanctuary, Raziel discovered a mural that held a discovery he was not expecting. Illustrating the forging of the Reaver blade, Raziel gazed in amazement as he learned that it was the vampire Vorador who had forged the Reaver. Raziel concluded that if Vorador was responsible for creating the blade that was to be his prison, he would hold the answers to Raziel's destiny. The reaper of souls knew that Moebius' mob would be hunting for Vorador in the time he was now it, and resolved to find the vampire before they did.

Raziel searched the chamber further. He found two forges, each with pictures of the Reaver blade drawn on the stone walls around it. Plunging his wraith blade into each forge, Raziel discovered that his weapon had be strengthened and imbued with the elemental powers of light and darkness. He could feel the energy of the wraith blade coursing through him, giving him new powers and abilities.

Returning to the cemetery, Raziel found that his new abilities gave him the power to escape the graveyard. The path to the pillars was now opened to him. Both warriors—Kain in the time of the Sarafan and Raziel in the time of the corrupted circle—were each taking one step closer to the answers they each sought.

Raziel arrived at the pillars, which he witnessed once again in their corrupted state. Calling out to the spirit of Ariel, Raziel was met once again by the troubled specter. Seeing Raziel for the first time since her death, Ariel immediately assumed that because he did not resemble either a human or a vampire, the creature that now stood before her was of Hylden origin. She began to lash out at the reaper of souls, claiming that the plans of him and his kind would soon be thwarted. Confused, Raziel assumed that her aggressive optimism was due to the fledgling Kain, who was off on his quest to destroy the corrupted circle. He assured Ariel that she was going to be disappointed in the results Kain would bring about, but she would not listen to him. Frustrated, he demanded to know how to find Vorador's lair. Ariel tossed him a few clues before disappearing, adding that she hoped he and the vile vampire would both rot in the bowels of the black forest. Hardly impressed by her naivety, Raziel traveled to the forest.

Finally locating Vorador's massive mansion, he searched inside for the vampire. Deep within the mansion, Raziel happened across yet another gate sealed with a Reaver lock on it. As before, the wraith blade unsealed the lock and permitted Raziel entry. Again Raziel found a portal to the vampire citadel. Traveling through it, he emerged in a different part of the citadel from his last visit. More murals greeted him, and Raziel finally found one that depicted the battle between the two champion warriors. As he examined it, he couldn't help notice how similar he looked to the Hylden champion. His wraith blade had the same fiery glow as the Hylden's sword, and his eyes burned in the same fashion. Raziel began to wonder if perhaps Kain was the vampire champion. He realized that if he was, then Moebius and the elder god had been right all along. The two of them were destined to engage in a battle—a battle from which only one would survive.

Raziel contemplated over his new discovery as he explored the part of the citadel he was now in. At last he discovered two more forges like the light and darkness ones he had discovered before. The forges were not active however. Puzzled, Raziel sensed that there was a strong spiritual essence within the chamber that housed the two forges. Shifting into the spectral realm, he discovered four wraiths. These hideous spirits were in fact those of the original vampire guardians. The four of them looked upon Raziel and began to spout pitiful remarks. Raziel's tattered appearance made them believe that he was some kind of tortured soul that desired only to be released into oblivion.

Failing to reason with the deranged spirits, Raziel drew his wraith blade and fed himself on the four spirits. By liberating the four guardians to the wheel of fate, he discovered that the forges were now charged. Thrusting his wraith blade into each one as he had done before, the reaper of souls felt his weapon consuming the powers of fire and air. The power of the four guardians was now harnessed into his spiritual blade, making it stronger and in turn making him stronger.

Raziel returned to Vorador's mansion and continued his search. Before long, he discovered the vampire's hidden chambers. Waiting for him inside was Vorador himself.

The vampire welcomed him into his home. It had been thirty years since the two of them had last met, however Vorador's decadence had not receded in the slightest. Raziel immediately questioned the vampire about the Reaver and his involvement with it. Amused, Vorador stated that he did in fact create the Reaver blade, but did not know of its purpose. Claiming that he had forged the Reaver at the behest of his master, Janos Audron, Vorador told Raziel that once again only Janos himself would have the answers the reaper of souls sought.

The two traveled into a deep chamber in Vorador's mansion. Inside, Raziel discovered the body of Janos Audron lying upon a stone alter. His chest was still torn apart and his black heart was still missing, but other than that the ancient vampire seemed completely unaffected by the five hundred years he had lied dead in that room.

Vorador commissioned Raziel to travel to Avernous Cathedral, where he believed the heart of darkness was, and reclaim it in order to restore Janos. Raziel agreed, believing that his only chance to discover his true destiny lied in what secrets Janos had. Before he departed, Vorador warned him of the evils that awaited him when he arrived at Avernous. The lady Azimuth had plunged the city into chaos, and Mortanius the necromancer was also involved somehow. With this advice, Raziel began the journey to Avernous.

In Nosgoth's past, five hundred years prior, Kain arrived at the vampire citadel and began his hunt for the enlightenment Moebius had foretold he would find. The vampire came across more murals from which he learned of the foretold vampire champion and his adversary; the Hylden champion. Kain recognized the Reaver blade that the vampire hero bore, and took note curiously of the flaming sword the Hylden warrior used. The vampire leaned also that the two warriors were destined to battle, but the outcome of that battle remained a mystery.

Kain also discovered more of the history of his ancestral race. He learned the truth about Moebius and Mortanius' rebellion, and finally understood why it was that Moebius hated him so much. As the scion of balance, Kain represented the return and rise of the vampire race, which Moebius had spent his life striving to obliterate.

Pressing on into the inner chambers of the stronghold, Kain came upon a massive hall with a swirling pool inside. A mural painted on the far wall displayed how the Hylden curse drove the vampires to madness and self-mutilation. On the opposing wall, a door stood with a lock on it. The Reaver blade was illustrated on the door, and Kain stood in bewilderment before the door. A voice spoke suddenly from within the pool. Kain had entered the shrine in which his ancestors had prayed to the elder god before it had abandoned them, and the elder god knew it was time to put the next phase of its plan into effect.

Claiming it was the mighty oracle of his ancestors, the elder god offered to help Kain seek out Raziel. It explained to the vampire that Raziel was traveling to Avernous in search of the heart of darkness. Kain realized that he had been right in his previous assumption: Raziel was going to try to revive Janos Audron, and that the resurrection was also to take place on the very day Kain's younger self would make his monumental decision and break the binding of the pillars, releasing the Hylden Lord into Nosgoth. The elder god commissioned Kain to destroy Raziel and prevent him from bringing about the doom of Nosgoth, claiming Kain was responsible for the reaper of soul's creation. Kain had no desire to battle Raziel however. He refused to acknowledge Raziel as an enemy. The elder god retorted that although Raziel was not the vampire's enemy, Kain was the bearer of the Reaver, which was destined to be Raziel's prison. Because of this, he would always be Raziel's nemesis. Regardless of the useless spatter the elder god was attempting to seduce Kain with, the vampire decided that he still had to prevent Janos from being raised.

Raziel was five hundred years beyond his grasp and Kain wondered to himself how he was going to stop the reaper of souls. As if it was reading his very thoughts, the elder god offered to transport Kain to the very hour that Raziel would arrive at the cathedral. Kain hesitated briefly—he did not trust this supposed oracle. In the end, he had no choice but to accept the elder god's help, and stepped through the portal the god had opened for him.

Avernous continued to burn. The demonic thrulls of the lady Azimuth were ravaging the city. Raziel battled his way through the army of demons until he reached the cathedral. Inside, all was still. Raziel progressed through the church until he came across a third locked door inscribed with the Reaver blade. Suspecting that he had found yet another portal to the citadel, which undoubtedly contained forges for the wraith blade he had yet to discover, Raziel entered the chamber, activated the portal, and once again found himself in the ruined citadel.

Murals were once again scattered throughout the halls, most of which Raziel had already seen. However, one painting he had not seen grabbed his interest immediately. In it, the vampires chronicled their abandonment from the elder god they worshipped. Raziel understood now that the god that had resurrected him and then tried to make him its slave was the same tyrannical entity that had driven the ancient vampires towards suicide.

Raziel soon discovered two more forges for the wraith blade. Again he was met by four vampire spirits. The second half of the vampire circle of nine was waiting for him, and each promised him the eternal rest that they knew they could not have. The reaper of souls would not be defeated by their words or their powers, and defeated each one in turn.

Taking his reward from the two forges, Raziel increased the power of his weapon by endowing it with the elemental forces of water and earth. Satisfied that the citadel held no further aid for him, Raziel returned to the cathedral.

The reaper of souls searched the hallways of the mighty religious base of Avernous, battling his way through the deranged humans that worshipped there, who all attacked him immediately and with a fierce calculating rage. Raziel wondered how the humans of the city had become so unhinged and bloodthirsty.

The tunnels that led deep beneath the cathedral wove and spiraled far underground. Raziel followed the passages until he came across a room littered with images that were apparently scratched onto the walls by the humans. Like the murals in the citadel, the drawings told a familiar tale about the apocalyptic war between the Hylden race and the ancient vampires, but from a somewhat different point of view.

Deciphering the images, Raziel discovered that it was in fact the ancient vampires who had started the war that would end up destroying both races. Devoutly loyal to their elder god, the vampires had declared war on the Hylden for opposing their god. In the midst of the scribbles, he noticed a drawing of the Hylden champion, complete with its glaring eyes and flaming sword. The similarities Raziel bore with the depicted Hylden hero were unmistakable, and Raziel fell into a massive state of confusion.

The elder god's voice rang out in Raziel's mind. It assured him that it was to the Hylden race he belonged, and that Kain was his mortal enemy. Fueling his suspicions, the elder god told Raziel that when Kain discovered what he had, the vampire would surly attempt to imprison the reaper of souls in the Reaver blade.

Though he had no reason to trust the elder god, Raziel could not deny that everything the elder god had said made sense. Disturbed, the reaper of souls pressed forward into the deepest area of the catacombs.

Within the giant cavern, Raziel discovered a bloody ritual. Hundreds of human worshipers gathered around a massive pit, chanting the name "Hash'ak'gik" over and over. In the center of the ritual, suspended on a stone platform just above the pit, the necromancer Mortanius stood preaching to the rest of the inhabitants.

Raziel watched as Mortanius commanded the worshippers to leave the pit in the service of their god, Hash'ak'gik. Approaching the pit, Raziel could not see all the way to the bottom. He sat and wondered what it was that the humans blindly worshiped.

Suddenly, Raziel felt a sting of energy not unlike that of the magic the Hylden warriors he had encountered used. Knocking him off balance, Raziel fell into the pit. Dried corpses and muddy skeletons littered the bottom of the massive hole, and Raziel could hear the sound of a large creature approaching.

Emerging from the shadows, a monstrous demon approached the reaper of souls. Its grotesque face starred deep into Raziel's eyes. The creature spoke, claiming that what he saw before him was not possible. The monster roared, shouting that he could not believe what he saw before him.

Puzzled, Raziel drew his wraith blade and demanded that the monster back away. His voice startled the creature further. It claimed that it was positive the owner of that voice had fallen into the abyss. Raziel was now equally surprised, and corrected the monster, stating that he had not fallen into the abyss—he had been thrown in by his own brethren.

The monster spoke once again, claiming it had heard how he had destroyed them. Certain now that it knew the identity of the creature that stood before him, the monster readied itself for battle, claiming that Raziel had finally sought him out.

Raziel finally realized that the monster the humans had referred to as Hash'ak'gik was in fact his brother Turel, who had evolved much like Kain's other vampire sons had. Baffled by this unexpected discovery, Raziel asked how Turel had come to be in the time of the corrupted pillars.

Unable to answer his question, Turel simply said that he had somehow been pulled through time and imprisoned in that vile pit. His eyes suddenly began to glow green. The Hylden that had possessed the creature centuries ago surfaced to Turel's face, and began telling Raziel that he had to battle the champion of their enemy at once. Hacking up blood and struggling to breath, Turel struggled to retake control of his body. Feeling weak, Turel declared that he would avenge his fallen brothers and feast upon Raziel's corpse.

Raziel was more than eager to engage Turel, who along with Dumah had thrown him into the abyss. As he had done four times in his quest for revenge, Raziel defeated his brother in combat. Consuming the soul of the dead vampire, Raziel felt his powers grow as he absorbed Turel's soul. He felt something else being consumed into his being—a darker and indescribable sensation that he could not clearly identify. What the reaper of souls had gained from the monstrous vampire was not only newly enhanced powers, but also a sliver of the Hylden soul that had possessed Turel. Though he could not recognize it, he felt it burning inside of him.

Escaping from the pit, Raziel encountered Mortanius. As Ariel had done before, the necromancer regarded him in disgust, assuming that he was a Hylden demon. The guardian of death laughed as he informed Raziel that he had managed to counter the plans of his race by setting in motion the events that would restore the pillars to their rightful owners.

Raziel had no time for his useless jeers, and demanded to know where the heart of darkness was. Again Mortanius laughed at him, claiming that he would never find it as long as the scion of balance, Kain, guarded it with his life. Raziel knew at that point that the necromancer had used the heart of darkness to turn Kain into a vampire.

Chuckling, Mortanius explained how by setting Kain upon the corrupted circle, he and Ariel would restore balance to the pillars and secure the binding that held the Hylden captive. This had been his atonement for the murder of Ariel and his final benevolent attempt to uphold the laws and prophecies of the ancient vampires, who were his predecessors. The necromancer knew that the young Kain would soon destroy Moebius and come hunting for him at the pillars, and left Raziel to meet his undead son there, where the two would battle and meet each of their destinies. Raziel was left in silence deep beneath the cathedral of Avernous.

Emerging from the catacombs, Raziel resurfaced into the main hall of the cathedral. As he walked towards the doors, Kain suddenly appeared before him, having just arrived from the time of the Sarafan. The reaper of souls felt the warmth in his body that had come about by consuming Turel's soul begin to strengthen.

Kain attempted to explain to Raziel that the resurrection of Janos Audron would jeopardize the future for both of them, but Raziel would hear nothing of it. The reaper of souls knew that Janos held the answers he sought, and that Kain would not stop him from discovering the truth about his destiny.

Assuring Raziel that he meant him no harm, Kain sheathed his sword and attempted to reason with him. Raziel could not believe the vampire though, for he had with him the Reaver blade—the weapon that was to be his prison. Somehow his rage was welling up beyond his control. Drawing his wraith blade, Raziel attacked the vampire.

Kain warned Raziel not to be so reckless, and that there was no reason for the two of them to fight. Raziel ignored him. All he could think about was the dozens of murals he had seen—the words the elder god had spoken to him. The reaper of souls was convinced that the two of them were destined to battle to the death, as was depicted in the prophecies he had seen with his own eyes.

Fed up with Raziel's disregard for reason, Kain finally drew the Reaver blade and engaged Raziel, hoping that he could force the reaper of souls into submission and make him listen to reason.

The two warriors fought ferociously. Raziel found that Turel's soul had given him new powers that fueled his energy and lust for battle. However, even with his new enhancements, Kain was still able to best him in combat. Bringing Raziel to his knees, Kain commanded him to listen to what he had to say.

Kain educated Raziel on the discoveries he had made when he saved the reaper of souls from the Reaver blade in the Sarafan stronghold. He explained that Raziel was the only creature in existence that was not bound to the wheel of fate due to his remaking. Because of this, Raziel truly had free will.

Still suspicious, Raziel retorted that his free will, it seemed, could only be implemented when it best suited the desires of the vampire that now stood over him. Having heard enough, Raziel resumed the battle between the two warriors. His fury manifested itself in raw power that streamed through him and his wraith blade.

Raziel finally dealt a mortal wound to Kain, and as he brought his weapon down to deliver the finishing blow, Kain grasped his arm, stopping the wraith blade an inch away from his body. The reaper of souls suddenly felt his weapon uncoiling itself from his arm and watched as it flowed through Kain's arm into the Reaver blade. Just as it had done in the Sarafan stronghold, the wraith blade was attempting to join with the physical Reaver blade. Raziel knew what this meant: the Reaver blade was about to fulfill its destiny and capture his soul within it.

At that point, Raziel felt that Kain had been posturing all along, and that he had truly intended to simply feed Raziel to the Reaver blade. Kain struggled to break free from the grapple, spouting claims that he had not intended what was happening to occur.

Raziel's fury was stressed beyond what he could endure. His mind submitted to the influence of the Hylden soul that resonated within him. Taking a mighty swing with his free hand, Raziel plunged his claw into Kain's chest, and tore the heart of darkness from within it. Kain shrieked in agony, and Raziel felt the wraith blade release its grip, winding back around his arm.

Propelling Kain backwards, Raziel witnessed the vampire fly into a portal that had somehow opened behind him. The portal closed as soon as Kain and his Reaver blade disappeared within it, and Raziel was left alone in the hall. He felt the furious powers that were coursing through his body begin to fade as the Hylden soul released its grip on him and faded away entirely. The heart of darkness continued to beat softly in his hand.

Raziel had finally destroyed Kain. The vampire scion of balance was dead, and the Reaver blade he possessed had no chance of becoming his instrument of destruction any longer. The reaper of souls sat for several minutes, reliving the event over and over in his mind. Somehow, the sense of victory and fulfillment that he had been lusting for the entire battle was not present. Raziel did not rejoice in the slightest about his triumph. Instead, a sickly feeling that he had once again fallen into an orchestrated trap crawled up his spine.

Raziel left Avernous, and returned to Vorador's lair deep within the black forest. Entering the mansion, he was horrified to realize that Moebius' vampire hunting mob was there waiting for him. The time streamer stepped forward and congratulated him for finally completing his appointed task. As he presented Vorador's sword, Moebius assured the reaper of souls that the scourge of the circle of nine would once and for all be eliminated.

Raziel realized that he had been controlled by the time streamer once again. Moebius grinned as he explained how it had never mattered which hero the two of them had thought they each were, so long as the outcome of Kain's death was achieved. As he retreated to the execution of Vorador, Moebius' hunters attacked Raziel.

Driven by a far more sincere anger than the sensation that had enraged him in the battle with Kain, Raziel devastated the hunters in mere seconds and rushed to the tomb of Janos. Relieved that the time streamer's mob had not discovered the ancient vampire's corpse yet, Raziel restored the heart to Janos and waiting patiently.

Healing his mighty wound immediately, the heart brought vampiric un-life back to the angelic ancient, who rose once again. Turning to Raziel, Janos reflected on his last memories. Raziel informed him that he had been asleep for five hundred years, and that in that time the vampires, including Vorador, had all been wiped out.

Alarmed, Janos beckoned Raziel to follow him. The reaper of souls would not comply however, stating that he had not raised Janos as a benevolent act. He demanded to know what answers Janos had about his destiny. Janos explains once again how he believed Raziel to be the savior of Nosgoth and the bearer of the Reaver blade. Feeling the ancient vampire needed to be enlightened; the reaper of souls summoned the wraith blade and showed it to Janos.

Janos gasped in shock as he observed the similarity the wraith blade had to the fiery sword the Hylden champion wielded. Puzzled, the ancient vampire realized that he must have somehow misread the prophecies. Concluding that the two of them had to try and figure out Raziel's labyrinthine purpose quickly, as the moment in which Kain's choice would destroy the binding was drawing closer and closer. Using his magic, Janos teleported them both back to the citadel of the ancient vampires.

Once the two had arrived, Janos explained everything to Raziel about the war with the Hylden, the curse the Hylden had brought upon the ancient vampires in retaliation, the abandonment of the vampire's god and the resulting suicidal madness that had infected the once noble race, the passage of the guardianship of the pillars onto the humans, and finally how the Hylden would return and enslave Nosgoth if they did not restore the pillars to their rightful guardianship.

Raziel finally asked how he was involved with the prevention of the Hylden's success. Janos directed him to the inner most shrine of the citadel, where the ancient vampires had once prayed to their god. In there, Raziel would supposedly find his answers. Janos refused to accompany the reaper of souls though, and remained behind.

Within the inner shrine, Raziel discovered the sealed doorway with the lock bearing illustrations of the Reaver on it that Kain had found when he had first entered the shrine during the time of the Sarafan. Using his wraith blade to once again unlock the seal, Raziel entered the chamber within.

Inside was the most decretive room Raziel had seen in all his visits to the citadel. The architecture was abundant with detail and mighty reverence, and in the center of the room was a Reaver forge that sat far more pristine and wholesome than any of the others Raziel had encountered.

Approaching the forge, the spirit of Ariel materialized before him. Her appearance had changed. Raziel noticed that her previously weak aura, infested with the essence of despair and misery was now enlightened and rich with vitality. Ariel explained that Raziel had done well to have brought the wraith blade to its final baptism. Extending her hand, Ariel asked Raziel to accept the gift she and the souls of the previous balance guardians had to offer.

Taking her hand, Raziel felt his wraith blade becoming infused with purifying energy. The wraith blade had been transformed into a pure, uncorrupted holy weapon. Feeling the powerful holy energy of his new weapon, Raziel heard Ariel's voice tell him that he had one last task to complete, and that he had to restore that which had been torn asunder. Only after he had done this would the scion of balance be equipped to restore the pillars.

Raziel did not understand Ariel's enigmatic request, and returned to ask Janos about it. As he entered the room in which the ancient vampire was waiting for him, the entire citadel shook. A brilliant flash nearly blinded the two of them and in the distance they both watched in horror as the pillars shattered. Kain's decision had been made once again, and as it had before, it caused the pillars to rupture.

Raziel composed himself and recoiled in amazement as he gazed at Janos. The ancient vampire's skin had been tainted; his eyes were glowing. As he rose he drew in a mighty breath and exhaled. The Hylden Lord was now in possession of Janos Audron. Thanking Raziel for his services, Janos howled with laughter as he realized that the victory of his race was now ensured.

As Turel had done before, Janos began gasping for air and struggling for possession of his body. Gaining a moment of control, the ancient vampire begged Raziel to destroy him in order to prevent the Hylden Lord from using him to reawaken the Mass. Before Raziel could respond, the Hylden Lord retook his control, and ordered Raziel to step aside, since he had already fulfilled his purpose by destroying Kain.

Raziel drew his newly forged spirit blade and challenged the Hylden Lord, stating that he would honor the wishes of Janos. The Hylden Lord laughed and accepted the reaper of soul's challenge. Even with his new weapon, Raziel was no match for the powers that the Hylden Lord possessed in conjunction with Janos' strength. In the final moments of the battle, Janos tore Raziel's physical body in two, forcing the reaper of souls back into the spectral realm. Once again, as Raziel's strength was nearly depleted, he felt the pull of the elder god dragging him into the inner chamber where the spirit Reaver forge was located.

Trapped in the chamber with the elder god, Raziel swung his weapon madly at the god's tentacles and eyes. It had no effect however for it was still a wraith blade, and the elder god simply laughed at his servant, who sat helpless in his prison. Feeling that Raziel had no further use, the elder god once again threatened to imprison Raziel within that chamber for all eternity. The elder god then sought out the spirit of Moebius, whose soul was at that point freshly delivered to the spectral realm by the young Kain. Restoring the time streamer, the elder god summoned Moebius to the chamber in order to discuss how the two of them were going to deal with the Hylden.

Meanwhile, in the Hylden's prison dimension, Kain awoke to find himself still alive. Rising, the vampire noticed that his chest was still cleaved open, and that the heart of darkness was indeed still missing. Kain did not understand at that time, but as the scion of balance he was gifted with the power to somehow survive without the heart of darkness. Gathering his weapon, Kain surveyed his location.

The world around him was distorted and burned with an unholy essence. Kain could hear creatures approaching him. The vampire drew his sword as he spotted Hylden warriors and demons begin to charge him. Though outnumbered immensely, Kain was victorious and managed to discover a rift in space similar to the one he had been launched into when Raziel had torn the heart of darkness out of him.

Stepping through the portal, Kain was once again in the dimension he knew. He noticed he was still in Avernous cathedral. Feeling a strong compulsion to return to the vampire citadel, Kain departed Avernous and returned to the sanctuary of his ancestors.

The vampire returned to the chamber where he had received council from the elder god. Noticing that the sealed door was now unlocked, Kain investigated further. Emerging into the inner chamber, Kain grinned as he noticed Moebius apparently speaking to nobody.

Approaching the time streamer, Kain began taunting the old man. Moebius spun around in complete astonishment. Attempting to activate his scepter, Moebius was even more shocked to find it no longer had any effect on Kain. The heart of darkness, which the scepter had power over, was no longer sustaining the vampire. Kain told the old man that his time was over, and impaled him with the Reaver blade. In his final breaths, Moebius snickered and claimed that he served one that had the power to restore his life before his soul slipped into the spectral realm.

Waiting for him in the world of the dead, Raziel stood with his weapon drawn. As Moebius beckoned the elder god to restore him, Raziel drove the spirit blade through the time streamer's soul, draining it of its ethereal essence. As the purified spirit blade liberated Moebius' soul, he was granted a vision at last of the elder god's true appearance. The horrid vision made Moebius scream in terror as he finally realized what it was he had been worshipping his entire life.

Releasing Moebius from the blade, Raziel fed himself upon the time streamer's soul, returning him to the wheel of fate once and for all. The elder god chuckled at Raziel's futile little actions, and reiterated that he and Kain would be trapped within the citadel for eternity, buried beneath a mountain of rubble.

With news of Kain's arrival, Raziel began to piece all the clues together. He realized that Kain was, and had always been the scion of balance, and that he was destined to be the savior of Nosgoth. Kain was destined to defend the world from the evils that plagued it—including the parasitic elder god, who had manipulated everyone: Moebius, Raziel, Kain, and even the ancient vampires all in order to feed its wheel of fate. Realizing that Kain could not battle what he couldn't see, Raziel finally understood what Ariel meant by joining that which had been torn asunder. Raziel was now in possession of a pure Soul Reaver, free of any and all corruption. As his symbiotic weapon, the same properties that were inherent to the spirit blade were also inherent in Raziel's soul. His soul encompassed the purifying power Kain needed to battle the evils that faced Nosgoth. Raziel knew then what he had to do.

Kain withdrew the Reaver blade from Moebius' corpse and turned to leave. Suddenly, he heard the time streamer climb to his feet once again. Spinning around, Kain plunged the Reaver into Moebius' chest once again. However, the time streamers body changed, reshaping itself to that of Raziel's physical body.

Kain gazed in horror as he began to see Raziel's soul slowly seeping into the Reaver blade. He tried desperately to remove the blade from Raziel, but the reaper of souls stopped him, and begged him not to despair. Raziel told him that what was happening was his destiny. Kain would not listen, and still he tried to remove the sword. The Reaver would not loosen its grip, and as Raziel began to fade into the sword, he assured Kain that he was in fact not the vampire's enemy, but instead was as he had been before: his right hand in the battle to save Nosgoth. Raziel's purified soul entered the sword, and the reaper of souls vanished.

Kain could not accept what had happened. He gazed at the Reaver, which blazed with holy energy. The vampire had no time to grieve for his loss however, for the power that the Reaver now had revealed the image of the elder god to him. He gazed in dreadfulness at the horrific appearance of the elder god, realizing how Raziel must have felt when he had first ordered him into the abyss.

The elder god introduced itself and warned that although Kain was now enlightened as to its true nature, there was still nothing the supposed scion of balance could do to stop it, and that it would still bury the vampire within the citadel. Kain gripped the handle of the Reaver and took a swing at one of the elder god's gruesome tentacles, which split into two pieces. The elder god shrieked in pain. Kain smiled and declared that the end had come for this false god.

Leaping forward, Kain stabbed the Reaver into the central eye of the elder god. The citadel shook relentlessly as the elder god's tentacles flailed in a wild frenzy of pain. Removing his sword, Kain escaped the chamber as the roof came collapsing down on top of the elder god.

As Kain brushed the dust off himself, the elder god's voice spoke once again, claiming that it was eternal and that one day it would return and destroy the vampire once and for all. Ignoring the boastful monster, Kain simply walked away from the ruined chamber.

Kain stood on the highest balcony of the citadel and reflected on the events that had transpired. From there he could see the pillars as they sunk into the rubble upon which his younger self would soon set his throne. Somewhere, the Hylden Lord was imprisoning Janos Audron and using his blood to revive the ancient Hylden creature known as the Mass, which would power the device the Hylden planned to use to take possession over Nosgoth. He knew that in four hundred years, his younger self would take care of those affairs however, so he didn't dwell deeply on them.

Instead, Kain turned his attention towards coming up with a plan for somehow restoring balance to the land and righting the wrongful decision he had made what seemed to him like an eternity ago. Taking the Soul Reaver in his hand once again, Kain reflected on the final gift that Raziel's sacrifice had accorded him: a faint glimmer of hope for the future, something Kain was not sure he had ever felt before.


End file.
